To prevent bulk or malicious attempts to remove legitimate voters from electoral rolls, the Election Commission introduced caps on how many Form 7 applications a single registered elector can submit, effective Friday. The limits apply to both online and offline submissions.
During the Summary Revision period, an individual voter may file up to 10 Form 7 applications. After the revision period ends, the routine period of voter list updation allows a maximum of five Form 7 applications per calendar month.
The EC issued the new directions amid reports of bulk filings from Karnataka and Odisha. It ordered chief electoral officers to brief field staff and to circulate the instructions among electoral registration officers, assistant EROs and other officials. The aim is to discourage unsubstantiated objections, reduce voter inconvenience and ease the workload of election officials. Under the revised mechanism, an electoral registration officer first issues a notice to the objector, hears the person, records statements for each Form 7 and verifies the validity of the objections. If satisfied, the ERO disposes of the application in accordance with Rules 19 and 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and provides an opportunity for hearing to the person objected to.
Form 7 is used to object to a proposed voter inclusion or to request deletion of a name from the existing roll. Typically, an elector may file the form to seek removal of another voter in the same constituency. The online version recently introduced Aadhaar‑based verification, while those outside a constituency may object by filing an affidavit.
