Election Commission orders probe into bulk Form-7 applications in Karnataka
The Election Commission of India has ordered an inquiry into the bulk submission of Form-7 applications seeking deletion of names from Karnataka’s electoral rolls.
The development followed a protest by Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar and several Cabinet colleagues, which continued for around five hours.
Karnataka Chief Electoral Officer V. Anbu Kumar subsequently instructed Electoral Registration Officers to initiate action against applicants who knowingly submit false statements or declarations through Forms 6, 6A, 7 and 8.
Shivakumar had alleged that large numbers of pre-filled Form-7 applications were submitted across the state by workers associated with the BJP and Janata Dal (Secular). He claimed that voters from Muslim, Scheduled Caste, Scheduled Tribe and Other Backward Class communities were among those allegedly targeted on grounds such as having shifted residence or being absent.
The Chief Minister also alleged that some applications were false or forged.
In Belagavi and Vijayapura, BJP workers who had submitted Form-7 applications in bulk reportedly withdrew them after being warned that false claims could attract punitive action. In written declarations, some of them said the submissions had been made by mistake.
Karnataka Police registered five FIRs on October 1 in connection with the issue. The cases were registered under provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita rather than the Representation of the People Act, as complaints under the latter can be initiated only by authorised Election Commission officials.
Shivakumar had called on the Election Commission to initiate action on its own and file criminal complaints. The Chief Electoral Officer acknowledged that bulk Form-7 submissions had occurred and said some applications were alleged to be non-genuine. He directed EROs to act against applicants found to have knowingly made false declarations.
Such action, he clarified, would have to follow an inquiry under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The BJP, meanwhile, defended its workers, maintaining that identifying voters suspected of being ineligible or non-genuine and bringing such cases to the authorities’ attention was not itself a crime.