ECI clarifies on SIR notice to former Navy chief | Check why

The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Monday clarified the notice issued to former Navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retd.) in Goa under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The commission stated that the mandatory details about the previous SIR were not filled in his enumeration form.

Admiral Prakash, a Vir Chakra awardee for his role in the 1971 India-Pakistan War, had been asked to attend a meeting to establish his identity. The notice drew attention on social media, with several retired armed forces personnel expressing concern over the procedure.

Electoral Registration Officer Dr. Medora Ermomilla D’Costa explained that the Booth Level Officer (BLO) of Cortalim Assembly Constituency collected the enumeration form, which lacked essential identification fields such as elector name, EPIC number, relative’s name, constituency details, part number, and serial number in the electoral roll.

Due to the missing details, the form was categorised under the “unmapped” category in the BLO application, which automatically links forms only when all prescribed particulars are completed. In such cases, the SIR process requires verification through a hearing mechanism to confirm the elector’s eligibility.

The commission highlighted that similar procedural checks have affected other eminent personalities, including Nobel Laureate Amartya Sen, whose enumeration form showed logical discrepancies. The system-driven process mandates notices for verification, while minor administrative corrections are handled locally to avoid unnecessary disputes.