Telangana voters face legal action for false SIR documents, declarations

The Telangana Chief Electoral Office has warned that voters submitting false, forged or misleading documents or declarations during SIR hearings may face legal action. More than 2 lakh notices have been served to voters with anomalies or unable to map themselves

Hyderabad: Electors submitting false or misleading documents or declarations during the personal hearing as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls are liable for legal action.

The Telangana Chief Electoral Office (CEO) will independently verify the documents submitted by an elector in support of their declaration made during the hearing. Providing false information to a public servant, according to the CEO, is a criminal offence under Section 217 of the BNS and is punishable under the law.

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“In case any document or declaration is found to be forged, false, fabricated, misleading or intentionally incorrect, the matter will be processed in accordance with the provisions of the BNS and other applicable law, and appropriate proceedings may be initiated against the person concerned,” the CEO said.

Furnishing any false declaration in connection with the preparation, revision, correction, inclusion or exclusion of any entry in the electoral roll is also punishable under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, with imprisonment or fine or both.

So far, more than 2 lakh notices have been served to voters who had anomalies or could not map themselves with the SIR 2002 list across the State.

Anomalies, including mismatches in names and incorrect ages between the present and previous SIR, were identified in enumeration forms submitted by 60,50,918 voters. Another 32,36,659 electors could not link themselves with the SIR 2002 list.

In one such notice served to an unmapped voter in Hyderabad, the Telangana CEO said, “Your duly signed enumeration form has been received. After scrutiny, it has been observed that: You have not filled in the details related to you or your relative that could establish you or your relative as a registered elector in the electoral rolls prepared during the previous SIR.”

Citing ‘no match’/‘likely incorrect match’ with the electoral rolls prepared during the previous SIR, the elector has been asked to appear before the Electoral Registration Office along with original documents.