Union Minister S Jaishankar and his wife, Kyoko S Jaishankar, are the latest high-profile voters in Delhi to receive Election Commission notices under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), as the electoral roll verification exercise flags politicians, senior officials and their families over various discrepancies in their records.
The list also includes former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and his family, CBI Director Praveen Sood and his family, former Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi and his wife, and former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai and members of her family. Several serving and retired bureaucrats have also been sent notices, either because their current records could not be linked to the rolls prepared during the previous revision or because of discrepancies in their names and family details.
Delhi’s Chief Electoral Officer clarified that receiving a notice does not mean a voter’s name will be removed from the electoral roll. “System-generated notices are being issued to the above-mentioned categories to correct their data in ECINET. No name can be deleted without giving an opportunity of being heard and a proper, speaking and appealable order,” the CEO said.
Notices to Jaishankar, Sood and Dwivedi families
Jaishankar and his wife have been placed in the “unmapped with last SIR” category, which means their current records could not be linked to the electoral rolls prepared during the previous revision in 2002. The couple is registered as voters in the Sunder Bagh electoral part of the New Delhi Assembly constituency.
CBI Director Praveen Sood, his wife Vanita Sood and his mother Kamlesh Sood have been placed in the same category. Former Army chief General Upendra Dwivedi and his wife, Sunita Dwivedi, are also on the list. They are registered as voters in the New Delhi Assembly constituency.
Sisodia and family receive notices
Former Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and members of his family have also received notices under the SIR exercise. No specific reason was given in Sisodia’s notice. His wife, Seema Sisodia, was flagged for a “self-name mismatch”, while their son, Meer Sisodia, received a notice over a “parent-name mismatch”. Sources close to the family claimed they were unaware that the notices had been issued.
Former judge, CPM MP’s family on list
Former Supreme Court judge Ranjana Desai and three members of her family have been placed in the “unmapped with last SIR” category. The others are her husband Prakash Desai, their son and advocate Mike Desai, and daughter-in-law Sakshi Desai.
The Election Commission has also issued notices to CPM MP John Brittas’s wife, Sheba Brittas, and their son, Anand Brittas, although their records were flagged for different reasons. Sheba received a notice over a “self-name mismatch”, while Anand was flagged for a “parent-name mismatch”. The discrepancy in Anand’s record may be linked to the mismatch identified in his mother’s details. Both are registered as voters in the New Delhi Assembly constituency.
Senior bureaucrats flagged
Several serving and retired IAS officers have received notices, either because their records could not be linked to the previous electoral roll or because discrepancies were detected in their details.
Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri, Securities and Exchange Board of India Chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Prime Minister Ajay Kumar Sood and Health Secretary Punya Salila Srivastava are among those listed as “unmapped with last SIR”. The list also includes Fisheries Secretary Abhilaksh Likhi, his wife and Ex-Servicemen Welfare Secretary Sukriti Likhi, Fertiliser Secretary Rajat Kumar Mishra and Land Resources Secretary Narendra Bhooshan.
Other officials have been flagged over discrepancies in their names or family details. Expenditure Secretary Vumlunmang Vualnam is on the list, while Comptroller and Auditor General K Sanjay Murthy received a notice over a “parent-name mismatch”.
What ‘unmapped with last SIR’ means
An elector is classified as “unmapped with last SIR” when the details in the current electoral roll cannot be linked to the corresponding entry from the previous revision. Voters whose records cannot be linked, or whose details contain discrepancies, are asked to submit replies and supporting documents to the Electoral Registration Officer concerned.
The Election Commission has clarified that a notice does not by itself mean a voter has been declared ineligible or that the person’s name will be deleted. The Electoral Registration Officer will examine the reply and documents submitted by the voter before passing an order.
The process of disposing of the notices is scheduled to be completed by October 29. The final electoral roll is due to be published on November 4.
Kejriwal family also received notices
The latest names emerged days after former Delhi Chief Minister and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and four members of his family were placed in the “unmapped with last SIR” category. Kejriwal, his wife Sunita Kejriwal, father Gobind Ram Kejriwal, mother Gita Devi and 25-year-old son Pulkit Kejriwal were among the voters whose records were flagged for verification.
The five were among 110 voters flagged in a segment of Assembly Constituency 40, which covers the New Delhi constituency. The New Delhi Electoral Registration Officer later said their enumeration forms did not contain all the details required to establish links with the electoral rolls from the previous revision in their respective states.
Rekha Gupta’s entry validated
Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta also received a notice during the SIR exercise. Her case involved an age-related discrepancy rather than a failure to link her record to the previous roll. A Booth Level Officer conducted a physical verification, after which the Election Commission said her documents and electoral details had been verified.
Her entry has been validated and will be included in the final roll for Assembly Constituency 14, Shalimar Bagh, scheduled to be published on November 4.