SIR Error: Mangaluru Man Mistakenly Marked As 'Dead' In Draft Electoral Roll

Mangaluru (Karnataka): A 61-year-old man in Mangaluru has been mistakenly listed as ‘dead’ in the draft electoral roll prepared as part of the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR), prompting the district administration to initiate action against the concerned Booth Level Officer (BLO).

The voter, Donald Joseph Rego, is a resident of Bejai in Mangaluru City South Assembly Constituency (203). He has reportedly been living at the same address for decades and has regularly exercised his franchise at the same polling station.

However, in the recently published draft SIR electoral roll, his name was marked under the ‘dead’ category against serial number 48 in the relevant block.

Rego said he was shocked to discover that he had been listed as deceased despite being alive and continuing to reside at his registered address.

“I was born and brought up in Mangaluru. I exercised my right to vote at this same booth during the last Lok Sabha elections. Even though no death certificate was issued and I am still alive, ‘Death’ has been recorded against my name,” Rego said.

He said he had approached the election office and the municipal corporation several times over the past few days seeking correction of the error. He was also reportedly asked to submit Form 6 to have his name included in the electoral roll.

Rego has demanded that his name be immediately removed from the list of deceased voters and retained in the electoral roll as a living eligible voter.

DC Orders Action Against BLO

Responding to the issue, Dakshina Kannada Deputy Commissioner Dr H V Darshan said the district administration had taken the matter seriously.

According to the Deputy Commissioner, Rego's name was mistakenly included in the deceased category following the death of his father.

“The death certificate was uploaded without proper verification. This is a clear dereliction of duty on the part of the officials,” the DC said.

He said this was the first such lapse reported in the district and that a show-cause notice had already been issued to the BLO concerned. A detailed report has also been sought, and disciplinary action will be taken according to the rules, he said.

The Deputy Commissioner further said that Rego's Form 6 had already been received and that he had personally verified the matter.

His name will be corrected during the claims and objections process and before publication of the final electoral roll, the DC said.

“No injustice will be done to eligible voters,” Dr Darshan assured.

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