Bharat Ratna awardee C.N.R. Rao gets Karnataka SIR notice over name mismatch

Bharat Ratna awardee and renowned scientist Professor C.N.R. Rao, 92, has received a notice in Karnataka as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls after officials flagged a spelling discrepancy in his name, reports said on Wednesday.

The notice cites “self-name mismatch” as the reason. Rao’s name reportedly appears in the older electoral rolls as “Prof CNR Rao”, while the current electoral roll records it as “Proff CNR Rao”, with an additional “f” in the professional title.

The discrepancy has prompted election officials to seek verification of Rao’s identity as part of the voter-roll revision exercise. He has reportedly been asked to appear for a hearing in Malleshwaram, near the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), and submit documents to establish his identity.

Under the SIR process, a “self-name mismatch” refers to a discrepancy between details provided by an elector from an earlier electoral roll, such as the 2002 roll, and the particulars appearing in the current electoral database.

The notice to Rao comes amid a wider verification exercise in Karnataka aimed at checking, updating and correcting voter details before the final electoral rolls are prepared.

The development has drawn attention because of Rao’s stature as one of India’s most prominent scientists and a recipient of the country’s highest civilian honour.

Born in Bengaluru in 1934, Rao is a globally recognised solid-state and materials chemist whose work spans solid-state chemistry, nanomaterials and structural chemistry. He founded the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit at IISc in 1976 and served as the institute’s director from 1984 to 1994.

Rao has authored more than 1,600 research papers and received numerous national and international honours. He was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2013 for his contribution to science.

The notice to Rao comes days after election authorities clarified a similar issue involving Padma Shri awardee Harekala Hajabba during the SIR exercise.

The Karnataka chief electoral officer said on Tuesday that the notice served to Hajabba was prompted by a mismatch in his name in electoral records and that the issue had since been resolved.

In a clarification issued by the District Election Officer, Mangaluru, officials said they had visited Hajabba, collected the required documents and corrected the discrepancy.

Hajabba had earlier received a notice directing him to appear before an election officer with documents following a mismatch between his name in the current electoral roll and the records from the previous SIR exercise. He was initially asked to appear at the Harekala Gram Panchayat on 11 September.

However, the notice was reportedly withdrawn within hours after officials returned to his residence. They assured Hajabba that the discrepancy would be corrected.

Both cases highlight the verification process being undertaken under Karnataka’s SIR, during which election authorities are scrutinising voter records and seeking supporting documents where discrepancies are found.

With IANS inputs