Handbook for Electoral Registration Officers - Election Commission ...

41. ERO should insist on the presence of the claimant, if the claim is objected to atthe hearing on any ground like under-age, non-residence, non-existence, etc. becausesuch an enquiry cannot be conducted satisfactorily in his absence.42. The ERO/AERO may get the facts verified by local verifying officers (DesignatedOfficers, BLO etc.) and a proper record of the applications given to any verifying officermust be maintained by the ERO in ERMS software showing the date of delivery of thoseapplications to the verifying officer and the date of receipt after verification.43. Every verifying officer must give full particulars of the local verification made byhim, i.e., the date and time of his visit to the household for an on-the-spot inspection,whether the applicant/objector/the person objected to was physically present at the timeof local verification and other evidence collected by him from the members of thehousehold or the neighbors in relation to the claim/objection. He must put his full nameand signature on the report, which he submits in relation to each claim/objection.. TheERO should decide to accept or reject it with due application of mind after considering thereport of the verifying official/documents.44. In the case of applicants who state their age to be 18 to 25 years and claim to beapplying for the inclusion for the first time, their claims with regard to their age must bethoroughly checked by the local verifying officer with reference to school/collegecertificate, birth certificate, and with reference to entries in respect of the other familymembers. If after such verification, the ERO is not satisfied about the minimumqualifying age of the applicant, and the applicant has also not filed a declaration insupport of his age, then the ERO may take the evidence on oath of the applicant as wellas of any member of the family (in case of an orphan, of some person to whom theapplicant is personally close) and whose name is borne on the electoral roll.45. If the address of the applicant is incomplete (like street name mentioned but notthe house number), a doubt may arise on whether the application is genuine. Theverifying officer will ascertain this in field inquiry and the correct-complete addressshould be recorded on the application. If the address mentioned in the Form and theapplicant’s whereabouts cannot be ascertained after due enquiry, such application shall berejected and the reasons recorded.46. Applications in Form 7 need to be scrutinized carefully so as to ensure that theseare not used to delete the names of genuine electors. In any case, no objection should beaccepted and no person objected to should be deleted unless the person objected to hasbeen given a proper notice in the prescribed Form (Annexure 5.14) in relation to theaction proposed to be taken and he had been given a reasonable opportunity of beingheard before passing the order.47. In doubtful cases and in the case of applicant not found at the residence at thetime of verification, the EROs should, send a notice to the applicant to appear in personbefore him or before the AERO at a place near his/her residence which can be decided inadvance to deal with a number of such cases involving a number of villages/localities.The applicants must be asked to bring relevant documents in proof of residence and age.As people may find it inconvenient to travel to the ERO’s office, the enquiry in such46