📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Kartik chauhandehra
Politics
Karnataka’s Electoral Roll Revision Marks Living Voters as Deceased, Sparking Deletion Row
✍️ India Today
🗓 05 Oct 2026, 08:36 AM
👁 11
A recent Summary Revision of Karnataka’s electoral roll has erroneously listed several living voters as deceased, prompting protests and demands for correction.
The State Election Commission of Karnataka has begun a Summary Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll, during which a number of active voters were mistakenly recorded as dead. The error was first flagged by local civil‑society groups who noticed that eligible voters were being denied access to polling stations.
Political parties across the state have condemned the mishap, calling it a violation of citizens' franchise rights. The Election Commission has announced an immediate review and has urged affected individuals to submit fresh affidavits to restore their status.
Legal counsel for several voter groups has filed petitions in the Karnataka High Court, seeking an urgent directive to halt further deletions until the roll is accurately verified. Officials say the revision is part of a routine clean‑up but acknowledge that procedural lapses led to the wrongful entries.
The controversy comes ahead of the upcoming state assembly elections, raising concerns that disenfranchised voters could be excluded from the ballot. Authorities have pledged to issue corrected voter cards within weeks and to strengthen verification mechanisms for future revisions.
Political parties across the state have condemned the mishap, calling it a violation of citizens' franchise rights. The Election Commission has announced an immediate review and has urged affected individuals to submit fresh affidavits to restore their status.
Legal counsel for several voter groups has filed petitions in the Karnataka High Court, seeking an urgent directive to halt further deletions until the roll is accurately verified. Officials say the revision is part of a routine clean‑up but acknowledge that procedural lapses led to the wrongful entries.
The controversy comes ahead of the upcoming state assembly elections, raising concerns that disenfranchised voters could be excluded from the ballot. Authorities have pledged to issue corrected voter cards within weeks and to strengthen verification mechanisms for future revisions.