Errors confirmed, wider review ordered
The findings followed a complaint about mismatches involving Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers. In an October 21 statement, the chief electoral officer's office said an investigation conducted through Pilibhit's District Election Officer had verified that searches using certain voters' numbers brought up information belonging to others.
The office ordered the errors corrected immediately and directed that the Electoral Registration Officer and VRC Operator for Assembly Constituency 127-Pilibhit be removed from voter list work. It also requested a report clarifying the responsibilities of the constituency's Assistant Electoral Registration Officers.
The order calls for legal action against the two officials under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and applicable provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.
Section 32 covers election officials who breach their duties in preparing or revising electoral rolls without reasonable cause. It provides for a prison term of three months to two years and a fine. As The Wire explains, a court may take cognizance of the offense only following a complaint filed by, or authorized by, the Election Commission of India or the state chief electoral officer.
Pilibhit's District Election Officer must review the rolls in every Assembly constituency in the district and provide a detailed report within two days. The review also extends statewide: according to The Indian Express, Rinwa instructed all district election officers to examine their constituencies' rolls and report within the same deadline. The review will look for similar mismatches elsewhere in Uttar Pradesh.
Congress alleges thousands of unauthorized changes
The action followed Congress allegations that 13,150 voters' names in Pilibhit Sadar had been changed without corresponding changes to their EPIC numbers. The party says the alterations occurred between July and September, after publication of the final roll on April 10, without Form 6 or Form 7 applications. It has sought Supreme Court intervention.
Congress also alleged that the names of 804 living voters were removed and that 2,600 people who did not live in the constituency were added to the roll. These broader allegations are distinct from the EPIC mismatches confirmed by the election authorities.
Spokesperson Supriya Shrinate cited several alleged substitutions: Rashid became Abdul, Mohammad Yusuf became Hasrat, Mohammad Waseem became Sher Mohammad, and Mohammad Shadab became Salim Khan. She said most of the affected names belonged to Muslim men and alleged that software had been used to alter voter details.
Shrinate also pointed to the size of the electorate and the previous election margin. According to The Indian Express, she said Pilibhit Sadar has about 3.48 lakh voters; BJP minister Sanjay Gangwar won the seat in the 2022 Assembly election by around 6,930 votes.
UP Congress in-charge Rajendra Pal Gautam alleged a conspiracy capable of affecting election results. MP Imran Masood said the party would pursue the matter "on the streets, in Parliament and in courts."
The Samajwadi Party had raised the issue before Congress's October 21 press conference. Amar Ujala reported that it submitted a memorandum about the alleged Pilibhit voter list irregularities on October 19.
Duplicate entries also under scrutiny
Uttar Pradesh's final electoral roll, published April 10, listed 13.39 crore voters following a revision that removed more than 2.04 crore voters and added over 84 lakh.
Social media reports of alleged duplicate entries involving people with multiple voter IDs have brought further scrutiny to the rolls produced after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The chief electoral officer's office says officials are working to remove duplicates.
On October 19, two days before the Pilibhit order, Rinwa had already instructed officials to prioritize identifying and resolving duplicate entries, The Indian Express reported. That directive was intended to make the draft roll scheduled for publication on November 12 error-free, with the voters concerned asked to complete Form 7 under the rules.
