The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) for Goa's Cortalim Assembly Constituency issued a detailed clarification on Monday regarding the notice sent to former Chief of Naval Staff, Admiral Arun Prakash, and his wife. This comes days after the decorated war veteran received a communication from the Election Commission of India (ECI) as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Why the Notice Was Issued: A System-Driven Procedure
The clarification states that the booth-level officer (BLO) collected an enumeration form from Admiral Prakash. However, upon scrutiny, it was found that this form did not contain mandatory identification particulars from the previous SIR exercise. Crucial fields such as the elector's name, EPIC number, relative's name, assembly constituency details, part number, and serial number in the existing electoral roll were left blank.
"In the absence of these essential identification details, the BLO application was unable to establish an automatic linkage between the submitted enumeration form and the existing electoral roll database," the ERO's statement explained. Consequently, the system categorized the form under the "unmapped category."
The Standard Verification Process Explained
The ERO emphasized that the subsequent notice was a routine, automated part of the SIR process. The BLO application is designed to map forms automatically only when all prescribed details are filled, allowing for instant verification. For unmapped forms, the SIR protocol mandates further verification through a hearing.
"Accordingly, as per the standard, system-driven procedure, a hearing notice was automatically generated and issued to enable verification of the elector’s details and ensure due opportunity for confirmation of eligibility," the clarification read. The notice was not a unique action but a standard step to ensure the integrity of the electoral roll.
Admiral Prakash's Response and Broader Context
Admiral Arun Prakash, a Vir Chakra awardee who settled in Goa post-retirement, had earlier confirmed to The Indian Express that he and his wife received the notices asking them to appear before ECI officials on separate dates. He stated they would comply with the request but noted that "the language of the notice is quite complicated and difficult to understand."
The notice served last week stated that the submitted form lacked details that could establish the applicant or their relative as a registered elector in the rolls prepared during the previous SIR. This incident follows a similar notice sent to South Goa MP and retired naval officer, Viriato Fernandes, another Kargil war veteran, who was asked to submit documents to prove his identity to retain his name in the electoral roll.
The ERO's clarification aims to transparently explain the technical reason behind the notice, underscoring that it was a procedural step in the systematic revision of voter lists and not a questioning of the Admiral's eligibility or status.
