Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The Election Commission of India has told the Delhi High Court that two voters whose names were deleted from the electoral rolls after they could not complete the enumeration process during the Special Intensive Revision in Delhi can submit Form 6 to address their grievance, news agency Press Trust of India reported.
The court closed their petition after observing that the concern of one of the petitioners that submitting Form 6 could expose him to accusations of making a false declaration was misplaced.
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The petitioners had challenged the procedure prescribed by the Election Commission for existing voters who could not be enumerated during the Special Intensive Revision exercise. They sought restoration of their electoral entries and permission to correct and transfer their names through Form 8 instead of applying for fresh inclusion through Form 6.
They said they had moved from their previous address and were consequently unable to fill in the enumeration forms, leading to the deletion of their names from the electoral rolls.
The Election Commission’s counsel told the court that the petitioners could seek redress by submitting Form 6 under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, according to PTI. He said the electoral registration officer would assist them, but the petitioners had chosen not to use that option for reasons best known to them.
Form 6 is the prescribed application for fresh inclusion in an electoral roll and requires applicants to provide their personal details. Applicants must also declare that they are seeking inclusion in the electoral roll for the first time. A false declaration can lead to penal action.
A bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Aditi Choudhary said the petitioner’s concern was misplaced because the suggestion to submit Form 6 had come from the Election Commission’s standing counsel on the instructions of the electoral registration officer.
“Having heard the learned counsel for the parties, we are of the considered opinion that when the suggestion is coming from the learned standing counsel appearing for the ECI, that too as per the instructions of the electoral registration officer, petitioner No.1’s apprehension that he would be accused of furnishing a false declaration is misplaced,” the bench said.
“With these observations, the writ proceedings are closed. The petitioners, if so desire, may fill Form 6, which shall be processed in accordance with law,” it added.
The court, therefore, closed the case while allowing the two voters to submit Form 6 for the restoration of their names to the electoral rolls, with their applications to be processed in accordance with the law.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
