Tell residents already given SIR notices to not come for hearings: Maharashtra EC to BLOs - The Indian Express

After the Election Commission of India (ECI) declared on September 26 that hearings would not be held for voters served notices in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls, the Maharashtra Election Commission directed Booth Level Officers (BLOs) on Wednesday to immediately inform residents who have already been served notices not to appear for hearings on the given dates.

In a virtual meeting on Tuesday, the state Election Commission informed officers across the state that as per ECI’s September 26 decision, BLOs must visit voters’ houses instead of calling them for hearings.

Manohar Parkar, Joint Chief Electoral Officer, issued a letter on Wednesday reiterating the instructions. The letter also stated that when giving notices, BLOs should write “No need to be present for the hearing” on them.

Before deleting a voter, sufficient time should be given, and help of local political party representatives should be sought. Pune District Collector Jitendra Dudi said the Election Commission clarified that only written orders should be followed and no oral instructions were to be given.

The third phase of the SIR is ongoing in multiple states including Maharashtra. In Pune 13,32,845 residents have notices generated against their names due to no-mapping with the 2002 voter roll or ‘logical discrepancies’ in their details.

The changes followed an investigation by The Indian Express that revealed discord within the commission, with two of its members having recorded objections at least 14 times to changes and decisions taken against their knowledge.

The ECI has declared that a hearing may be conducted only under exceptional circumstances if the Electoral Registration Officer deems it necessary, and such hearings will preferably be held online.

At various hearing centres in Pune, few people who had already been given notices were turning up to submit their documents. Dhanraj Valmiki, Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) at Appasaheb Kulkarni Primary School in Gokhalenagar, said that only around 20 people came to the centre on September 30. On September 28, more than 50-60 people had arrived at the centre.

AERO Smita Patil situated at the Bibwewadi Ward Office said that instructions had been provided the previous night not to call residents for hearings and BLOs were informing residents of this.

However, confusion was still present amongst officers and citizens. One AERO from the Parvati Assembly constituency said, “The instructions are changing frequently. When there were so many problems in the previous phase of the SIR, these things should have been considered beforehand and decided. The BLOs are going house-to-house now, but who knows that the instructions might change again in two days.”

Air Vice Marshal (retd) Manmohan Bahadur received a notice for no mapping. He claims that he had submitted his father’s 2002 voter ID details while filling his SIR enumeration form. “The lady (BLO) had filled up those details of my father from 2002 SIR,” he told The Indian Express.

On Tuesday, the senior officer’s BLO called him to a school and handed him a notice stating he was unmapped to the 2002 voter roll. The notice says that he must come for a hearing to the centre in the Hadapsar assembly constituency on October 6.

After seeing news reports on September 30 that BLOs are supposed to visit the electors to collect required documents, he took to X (Twitter) to exclaim that this was untrue because his BLO had asked him to appear for a hearing. He told The Indian Express that his BLO had not told him by evening not to appear for the hearing.

Soham Shah is a Correspondent with The Indian Express, based in Pune. A journalism graduate with a background in fact-checking, he brings a meticulous and research-oriented approach to his current reporting. Professional Background Role: Correspondent coverig education and city affairs in Pune. Specialization: His primary beat is education, but he also maintains a strong focus on civic issues, public health, human rights, and state politics. Key Strength: Soham focuses on data-driven reporting on school and college education, government reports, and public infrastructure. Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) His late 2025 work highlights a transition from education-centric reporting to hard-hitting investigative and human-rights stories: 1. Investigations & Governance "Express Impact: Mother's name now a must to download birth certificate from PMC site" (Dec 20, 2025): Reporting on a significant policy change by the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) following his earlier reports on gender inclusivity in administrative documents. "44-Acre Mahar Land Controversy: In June, Pune official sought land eviction at Pawar son firm behest" (Nov 9, 2025): An investigative piece on real estate irregularities involving high-profile political families. 2. Education & Campus Life Faculty crisis at SPPU hits research, admin work: 62% of govt-sanctioned posts vacant, over 75% in many depts (Sept 12, 2025): An investigative piece on professor vacancies at Savitribai Phule Pune University. "Maharashtra’s controversial third language policy: Why National Curriculum Framework recommends a third language from Class 6" (July 2): This detailed piece unpacks reasons behind why the state's move to introduce a third language from class 1 was controversial. "Decline in number of schools, teachers in Maharashtra but student enrolment up: Report" (Jan 2025): Analyzing discrepancies in the state's education data despite rising student numbers. 3. Human Rights & Social Issues "Aanchal Mamidawar was brave after her family killed her boyfriend" (Dec 17, 2025): A deeply personal and hard-hitting opinion piece/column on the "crime of love" and honor killings in modern India. "'People disrespect the disabled': Meet the man who has become face of racist attacks on Indians" (Nov 29, 2025): A profile of a Pune resident with severe physical deformities who became the target of global online harassment, highlighting issues of disability and cyber-bullying. Signature Style Soham is known for his civil-liberties lens. His reporting frequently champions the rights of the marginalized—whether it's students fighting for campus democracy, victims of regressive social practices, or residents struggling with crumbling urban infrastructure (as seen in his "Breathless Pune" contributions). He is adept at linking hyper-local Pune issues to larger national conversations about law and liberty. X (Twitter): @SohamShah07 ... Read More