Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S Chockalingam has approached the Election Commission seeking changes to its ECINet software, arguing that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) should have greater discretion while dealing with cases during the notice phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The communication, sent to the Election Commission on September 24, sought four changes to the software. Earlier reporting noted: As reported by The Indian Express , Sandhu wrote on August 14 that CEOs, DEOs and EROs, the statutory authorities for the voters’ list, were reporting they could not perform their duties, with their powers “curtailed by centralised control of ERONet at DG(IT) level.
The requests largely concern situations in which EROs are required to take decisions under election law but do not currently have corresponding options available to them on the digital platform, according to a report by the Indian Express Newspaper. Chockalingam has sought an additional option, “Exempted from Hearing” for cases where the elector has submitted valid and satisfactory documents. “It is strange,” he said, “that all the responsibilities regarding Electoral Roll lie on EROs, DEOs and CEOs as per law, but the access control has been centralised by DG(IT).”
The move would particularly help senior citizens, persons with disabilities and other vulnerable groups avoid unnecessary inconvenience. The law assigns responsibility for the electoral roll to the Electoral Registration Officer, one for each Assembly seat. But the software used by the poll panel reportedly curtails that role and is heavily centralised, giving control to the DG (IT) of the poll panel.
Earlier reporting noted: The Maharashtra CEO has demanded changes in the software that would give EROs more options while processing SIR notices.
Changes sought in ECINet process
The Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 place responsibility for electoral rolls on EROs. These officers are generally sub-divisional magistrates or officials of equivalent rank and handle the preparation of voter lists, claims and objections, as well as decisions on inclusion and deletion of names.
A logical discrepancy does not by itself mean that an individual is ineligible to vote. It refers to a mismatch identified by ECINet when an elector is linked to a parent or grandparent in the electoral roll from the previous SIR. The proposal is aimed at cases involving people from tribal, homeless and sex-worker communities who may not have documents from the specified list. The request is based on the statutory responsibility assigned to EROs for electoral rolls. Under the law, an ERO is responsible for an Assembly constituency and, if satisfied that a person is eligible, can direct that the person’s name be included in the roll.
