Election Commission tightens limits on Form-7 filings to check bulk objections

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Friday limited to 10 the number of Form 7 applications --- the document submitted to object against the inclusion of a person in the voter roll --- an individual can file, saying bulk objections on “unsubstantiated grounds” were inconveniencing voters and overloading field staff.

In an instruction to the chief electoral officers of all states and UTs, the poll body said an individual elector can file at most 10 such applications during the entire claims-and-objections period. During continuous updation of rolls, the cap is five per month. The limits apply to both online and offline filings, it said.

The Commission said that while online filings were capped at six at a time, “the number of physical forms presented in bulk has not been defined and has been left to the judgement of the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), which is creating challenges for the field functionaries.”

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Form 7 is used to object to the inclusion of a name in the electoral roll or to seek deletion, and can be filed only by a person already registered in that constituency.

Controversy Over Form 7 Applications

The use of Form 7 has been at centre of a controversy after cases of its alleged misuse were reported from Karnataka, Telangana and Rajasthan.

In Telangana, the Congress first raised the issue in Hyderabad’s Musheerabad on October 1, alleging that a BJP booth-level agent had filed more than 30 Form 7 applications seeking deletion of members of a single Muslim family. Similar bulk applications were reported in the Bahadurpura and Goshamahal constituencies, with pre-filled forms that left the applicant details blank.

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Checks on Form 7 Objections

The Manual on Electoral Rolls already says bulk claims by an individual should not be entertained.

The poll body also told EROs to reject forms with incomplete details or without the objector’s original signature, noting that a seal cannot replace it. They must verify the applicant against the electoral roll, issue notice and hear the objector separately for each form, and give the person objected to a hearing before passing an order.

Where a complaint is found false or fabricated, the ERO shall act under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which penalises false declarations.

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For the ongoing Special Intensive Revision, booth-level agents of recognised parties remain bound by existing caps of 50 forms a day before draft publication and 10 a day after.