UP SIR: Did ECI software auto-generate 85,854 deletion forms?

• 85,854 of 87,127 deletion requests filed by electoral officers allegedly carried no valid reason.

• The Reporters’ Collective finds 1.10 lakh individual deletion requests were accepted after prescribed deadline.

• Its analysis flags constituencies where 90 per cent of deletion requests targeted Muslim voters.

The Election Commission of India’s (ECI) software automatically generated 85,854 voter deletion requests in Uttar Pradesh without specifying reasons, with the forms carrying the digital signatures of election officials, an investigation by The Reporters’ Collective (RC) has found.

In its report published on Friday, 9 October, RC said its analysis of more than 4.3 lakh Form 7 disclosures on the Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer’s website showed that 85,854 of the 87,127 deletion requests filed by electoral registration officers (EROs) and assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) did not mention a reason for removing voters.

According to RC, the ECI’s ERONET software generated the forms when officials rejected voters during hearings under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The forms already carried the officials’ digital signatures and were sent to senior officers for approval, the investigation said.

RC spoke to four election officials who said the system automatically generated Form 7 requests when they did not approve voters during hearings. One official told the publication that the forms were bound to carry his signature because the system operated through his credentials.

The investigation argued that the process raised questions about compliance with electoral rules, which require deletion requests to specify grounds such as death, underage status, permanent relocation, duplicate enrolment or non-citizenship. RC said the rules also require authorities to reject objections that are not submitted in the prescribed manner.

The report further found that 1,10,476 deletion requests filed by individuals were accepted after the legally prescribed deadline.

RC also flagged possible patterns of targeted deletions in the Tarabganj and Pilibhit Assembly constituencies, where it found that 90 per cent of deletion requests were directed against Muslim voters. In Tarabganj, 188 objections were filed under the name ‘Reshma’ on the same day against voters from the same polling booth, the investigation said.

The RC said it had sent detailed questions to Uttar Pradesh chief electoral officer Navdeep Rinwa and the ECI in Delhi but had received no response by the time of publication.