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ECI lets EROs decide SIR discrepancy notices; hearings made exceptional

By CAShorts DeskPublished Sources: The Indian Express; Election Commission of India; Chief Electoral Officer, Maharashtra; Representation of the People Act, 1950

ECI lets EROs decide SIR discrepancy notices; hearings made exceptional
Illustration (AI-generated)

The Election Commission of India has changed its ECINet software and procedures for notices issued in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) now decide logical-discrepancy cases themselves, voters may offer documents beyond the 13 listed categories, and personal hearings are held only in exceptional cases.

Syllabus: Prelims · Polity & Governance; GS2 · Representation of the People Act; GS2 · Constitutional Bodies

Why this matters for UPSC

GS2 polity: the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Election Commission's powers under Article 324. Prelims can ask who designates an ERO and what Section 13B provides; Mains, about inclusive electoral rolls and officers' discretion.

Why it matters

A voter whose father's name is spelt one way in the old roll and another way today could earlier be called to an officer's office to explain a clerical mismatch. Now the Booth Level Officer comes to the door, and the officer who knows the area decides. A tribal family or a homeless person who holds none of the listed papers can now offer whatever other proof they have. Fewer people should drop off the roll for paperwork rather than ineligibility. The larger question is how a revision keeps ineligible names out without shutting eligible citizens out of the vote.

Prelims pointers

  • Article 325: one general electoral roll for every territorial constituency; no one is excluded from it on grounds only of religion, race, caste or sex.
  • Article 326: Lok Sabha and Assembly elections rest on adult suffrage; a citizen not under 18 on the date fixed by law may register.
  • RP Act, 1950, Section 14(b): four qualifying dates a year for registration: 1 January, 1 April, 1 July and 1 October.
  • RP Act, 1950, Section 16: non-citizens, persons declared of unsound mind by a competent court and those disqualified for corrupt electoral practices cannot be registered.
  • RP Act, 1950, Section 21(3): the Election Commission may at any time, for reasons recorded, direct a special revision of a constituency's roll in any manner it thinks fit.
  • RP Act, 1950, Section 24: an ERO's order under Section 22 or 23 is appealed to the district magistrate or equivalent officer, then to the Chief Electoral Officer.
  • RP Act, 1950, Section 13CC: officers revising rolls are deemed on deputation to the Election Commission, under its control and discipline, while so employed.
  • Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, Rule 25: a roll is revised intensively (prepared afresh), summarily, or partly both, as the Commission directs.

Practise a UPSC-style question

With reference to Electoral Registration Officers under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, consider the following statements:

1. The Election Commission designates or nominates the Electoral Registration Officer in consultation with the State Government.

2. Assistant Electoral Registration Officers are appointed by the Chief Electoral Officer of the State to assist the Electoral Registration Officer.

3. An officer of a local authority can be designated as the Electoral Registration Officer of an assembly constituency.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. (a) 1 and 2 only
  2. (b) 2 and 3 only
  3. (c) 1 and 3 only
  4. (d) 1, 2 and 3
Show the answer

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only

Answer: (c) 1 and 3 only. The Commission appoints both the ERO and the AERO; the State is only consulted for the ERO.

Statement 1: correct. Section 13B of the RP Act, 1950 says the Election Commission designates or nominates the ERO in consultation with the State Government.

Statement 2: incorrect. Section 13C of the RP Act, 1950 says the Election Commission, not the Chief Electoral Officer, appoints Assistant Electoral Registration Officers.

Statement 3: correct. Section 13B allows the ERO to be an officer of the Government or of a local authority.

Eliminate: Statement 2 is wrong because Section 13C gives the appointment to the Election Commission. Out: (a), (b), (d).

Trap: Swapped attribution. The AERO's appointment is pinned on the State's Chief Electoral Officer, who supervises rolls but does not appoint AEROs.

Remember: ECI designates the ERO (with the State's consultation) and appoints the AERO.

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