Clarification from Election Commission on Notice Issued to Former Navy Chief in Goa

Election Commission Addresses Notice to Admiral Arun Prakash

The Election Commission of India provided clarification on Monday regarding the notice issued to retired Admiral Arun Prakash under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Goa. The Commission stated that the counting form submitted by Prakash lacked essential details from the previous SIR.

Prakash, who has been residing in Goa since his retirement, was called upon to establish his identity as part of the SIR process. Concerns were raised on social media by several individuals, including retired armed forces personnel, regarding the notice sent to him.

He was awarded the Vir Chakra for his contributions during the 1971 India-Pakistan war. In a statement released on Monday, Dr. Medora Aremomila D'Costa, the electoral registration officer, clarified that during the SIR, the booth-level officer (BLO) for polling station number 43 in the Curtorim assembly constituency collected the counting form related to Admiral Prakash.

It was noted that the counting form did not include mandatory details from the previous SIR, such as the voter's name, EPIC number, relative's name, assembly constituency name and number, part number, and serial number in the voter list.

The officer explained that due to the absence of these essential identification details, the BLO application was unable to establish an automatic link between the submitted counting form and the existing voter list database.

The clarification stated that since all information related to the previous SIR was not provided, the system categorized the counting form under the unmapped category.

D'Costa mentioned that the BLO application is designed to automatically match counting forms only when the required identification details are duly filled, allowing for verification against the existing voter list. If the counting forms cannot be matched, further verification through the hearing mechanism under the SIR process is mandatory.

According to D'Costa, in line with standard system-based procedures, a hearing notice was automatically generated and issued to ensure proper opportunities for verifying the voter's details and confirming eligibility.