New Delhi, Sept. 23 -- Former chief election commissioner O P Rawat has described the reported differences within the Election Commission over changes to voter registration Form 6 and other decisions as "very serious" and "unfortunate", while sources in the poll body maintained that all decisions, including those related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, were taken unanimously.
Rawat was reacting to reports that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had raised objections on several decisions and orders over the past 10 months. According to the reports, the two commissioners recorded objections at least 14 times on matters ranging from voter registration and deletion to changes in Form 6 and the centralisation of control over the electoral roll database. Rawat, who served as chief election commissioner from January to December 2018, said the reported changes to Form 6 were "absolutely wrong and illegal". He said statutory provisions could not be altered through instructions issued for the SIR without following the prescribed legal process.
The reported objections over Form 6 relate to a declaration introduced in the online version of the form for new voter applications in connection with the SIR. According to the reports, Joshi had recorded in May that the statutory form could not be changed through instructions and that any such alteration would require the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 to be amended. Sandhu had reportedly agreed with the view. However, a declaration linking new voter applications to the SIR was subsequently introduced in the online Form 6. In August, Sandhu reportedly described the change as "unauthorised and illegal" and called for its immediate removal. Rawat said the reported objections were particularly serious because, according to the reports, the two commissioners had maintained that their views were not taken into account and that no meeting was held on the issue.
The former CEC also criticised the reported centralisation of control over the electoral roll database. According to the reports, concerns over changes in the supervision of the Election Commission's information technology system escalated to the point where Sandhu and Joshi separately approached Cabinet Secretary T V Somanathan. Rawat said electoral-roll software should not override decisions taken by field officials. He argued that if field functionaries determine that a correction should be made but are prevented from doing so by the software, such a system would be improper.
He also expressed concern that the reported developments could further erode public confidence in the Election Commission amid the political controversy surrounding the SIR. At the same time, sources in the Election Commission rejected the suggestion that the commissioners had formally dissented on decisions taken by the poll body. EC sources said that while commissioners may have raised observations or differences during the decision-making process, all decisions, including those concerning the SIR, were ultimately unanimous and had the approval of all three commissioners.
Under Section 18 of the Chief Election Commissioner and Other Election Commissioners Act, 2023, the business of the commission is required, as far as possible, to be conducted unanimously. Where members differ, the matter is decided according to the majority opinion. Neither Sandhu nor Joshi has publicly commented on the reported differences or their objections. The controversy comes amid a wider political dispute over the SIR exercise, with Opposition parties raising concerns over the electoral-roll revision and questioning the functioning of the Election Commission.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.