India's Election Commission caps individual Form 7 submissions

The Election Commission of India on October 9 capped individual Form 7 submissions at 10 during the entire claims-and-objections period. During continuous electoral-roll updates, an elector may submit no more than five applications per month.

Form 7 is used to object to the inclusion of a name in an electoral roll or request its deletion. The new limits apply to individual electors and cover both filing methods. The number of paper forms had previously not been clearly defined, which the Commission said created difficulties for field staff.

The Commission linked the decision to bulk applications submitted on unsubstantiated grounds. Such objections inconvenience the people whose entries are challenged and increase the workload of officials checking the rolls. The directive was sent to the chief electoral officers of all states and Union Territories.

Electoral registration officers have been instructed to check that applications contain complete details, bear the applicant's signature and correspond with electoral-roll records. A stamp reproducing a signature cannot replace an original signature. The Commission also directed action against applicants filing false or fabricated complaints.

Separate bulk-filing arrangements remain for agents of recognized political parties during the Special Intensive Revision. Under the provisions cited by the Commission, an agent may submit no more than 50 forms per day before publication of draft rolls and 10 per day afterward. Those rules differ from the new individual-elector limits.