Telangana Poll Official Warns of Action Over Misuse of Form-7 to Delete Voters

Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana Orders Action Against Individuals Falsely Deleting Voters from Electoral Rolls.

The Chief Electoral Officer of Telangana, C Sudarshan Reddy, has issued an order to various officials across the state, instructing them to take action against individuals who submitted Form 7s to falsely delete eligible voters from the electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.

The CEO's memo, issued on Monday, notes instances of bulk applications in Form 7 before electoral registration officers and alleges that such forms are not genuine. The memo states that officials, including collectors, district education officers, and electoral registration officers, should investigate and take action against applicants who have made knowingly false statements or declarations in writing, as per the provisions of section 31 of the Representation of People Act 1950.

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The memo also states that such action will be preceded by an inquiry under Rule 20 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The CEO's instructions come against the backdrop of the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee's electoral office filing a complaint with the Commissioner of Police. Hyderabad, seeking FIRs over alleged Form 7 misuse.

The first alleged instance of bulk Form 7s in Hyderabad surfaced on October 1, 2026, in the Musheerabad constituency. A booth-level agent of the BJP allegedly filed a pre-printed application seeking the deletion of 31 electors.

This includes a Congress booth-level agent and his family members, who claimed to be affected.

In another case, a pre-printed Form 7 surfaced in the Bahadurpura constituency, also flagged by the Telangana Pradesh Congress Committee. A third instance was reported from the Goshamahal assembly constituency's booth number 173. There, the booth-level officer refused to accept the bulk pre-printed forms.

Electoral Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi have flagged "unauthorised, illegal" moves, including keeping voters in the dark and adding new voters, as well as deleting names, over a period of ten months, from November to August.

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For a Goan, being off the electoral roll can have severe consequences, including increased healthcare costs. The state's health support scheme is only available to voters.

Following the removal of 13 crore names from the draft electoral rolls, the Election Commission has ordered a 'left out' voter drive.

There has been dissent within the Election Commission earlier, but this order is seen as a significant move.