EAM Jaishakankar, election commissioner among voters flagged for Delhi SIR data discrepancy

Around 3.16 million voters were flagged for various issues, and the Delhi CEO clarified that notices don't imply automatic deletion from electoral rolls.

External affairs minister S Jaishankar, election commissioner SS Sandhu, former deputy prime minister LK Advani and Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India K Sanjay Murthy are among those who are being issued notices for discrepancies in their enumeration forms in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the Capital. Notice has also been issued to the late economist Bibek Debroy, a review of the lists have been found.

Electoral Roll Updates

Voters arrive at a voter centre to seek clarification and make correction to their SIR forms. (Ishant Chauhan/HT Photo)

The office of the Delhi chief electoral officer (CEO) late on Friday published the list of electors served notices, nearly three weeks after the draft electoral roll of voters in the city was released on August 31. As per official data, over 3.16 million voters served notices under two categories: “no mapping” and “logical discrepancies”.

In a statement on Sunday, the Delhi CEO’s office clarified that issuing a notice does not mean an elector’s name will be deleted from the electoral roll.

A poll official, asking not to be named, said that for prominent electors who received notices booth-level officials would facilitate the process and collect their documents.

Clarifications on Mapping Issues

Jaishankar and his wife Kyoko Somekawa Jaishankar, voters at the Sunehri Bagh polling station, as well as former Delhi minister Kailash Gahlot, now a BJP MLA, his wife Moushumi Mishra and elder daughter Jahnavi Gahlot have also been flagged under the same category.

List of prominent names on Delhi's SIR notice list

Debroy, who died nearly two years ago, has been issued a notice after his name was found “unmapped” with the previous electoral roll.

A senior official from the New Delhi assembly constituency said Debroy was part of a flagged list of electors that, as per election commission instructions, had to be included in the draft roll so that their documents could be collected during the claims and objections process.

Official Responses

“The concerned BLO has already highlighted that he has died but as per ECI instructions, his name could not be deleted. We are aware of his death and now his name will be excluded from the final list,” the official said.

Comptroller and Auditor General of India K Sanjay Murthy, a voter from the New Moti Bagh polling station, has been flagged for “parent-name mismatch”. His wife Sowmya has been flagged for her name mismatch.

Sandhu and his son, Damanbir Singh Sandhu, have been served a notice over “self-name mismatch”.

In response, New Delhi district election officer said Sandhu’s details have been verified. “The electoral entry pertaining to Dr SS Sandhu, election commissioner of India has already been validated and kept in the list for inclusion in the final electoral roll of AC-38 (Delhi Cantt).”

Former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, a voter in the New Delhi assembly constituency, has also been issued a notice, although the reason was not specified in the list. His wife Seema has been flagged for “self-name mismatch”, while their son Meer has been flagged for a “parent-name mismatch”.

Additional Names Flagged

Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas’s wife, Sheba, and son, Anand, were flagged for a “self-name mismatch” and “parent-name mismatch,” respectively. Former chief justice DY Chandrachud’s wife, Kalpana Das has also been flagged.

Former Delhi lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung; former vice-president Jagdeep Dhankhar and his wife Sudesh Dhankhar; former UGC chairman M Jagadesh Kumar; foreign secretary Vikram Misri; SEBI chairman Tuhin Kanta Pandey; principal scientific adviser to the Prime Minister Ajay Kumar Sood; former NITI Aayog vice-chairman Arvind Panagariya; former Army chief Upendra Dwivedi; CBI director Praveen Sood; and senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi; former Union minister Subramanian Swamy; BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj are also among the names on the list.

In Jangpura assembly constituency’s Nizamuddin East polling station, psychologist and social theorist Ashis Nandy, senior advocates Indira Jaising and Anand Grover, and communications consultant Dilip Cherian were also being issued notices.

Public Reaction and Clarifications

In a post on X, Jaising said, “So are we not citizens ? Do we not have the right to vote?”

In a clarification statement, the Delhi CEO said, “System-generated notices are being issued to the above said categories to correct their data in ECINET. No name can be deleted without giving an opportunity of being heard and a proper speaking and appealable order.”

Electors who receive notices can submit their replies and requisite documents to the ERO or BLO concerned. The list of documents prescribed by the ECI is “indicative and not exhaustive”, the statement said.

“Electoral Registration Officers, being statutory authorities, will take final decisions on a case-to-case basis based on the available documents and reports of the BLO. Disposal of notices will be completed by October 29 as per the schedule of SIR 2026 and the names of such electors will be included in the final electoral roll to be published on November 4,” it added.

To be sure, it was not clear who all received their notices.

Reacting to the development, Swamy said in a post on X that it was “surprising” that Election Commission officials were under pressure to delete his name from the voter list. He said he intended to take up the matter and “perhaps file a case in the Supreme Court”.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal also warned at a press conference on Sunday that the issue of names being removed from electoral rolls could eventually reach the Supreme Court.

This comes a day after it was learnt that Delhi chief minister Rekha Gupta and former CM Arvind Kejriwal had also been issued notices.

Summary of Voter Discrepancies

According to election officials, 1,379,785 electors were categorised under “no mapping”, while 1,933,134 were flagged for “logical discrepancies”. Together, the two categories account for 3,312,919 electors.