Form 7 was 'misused' by BJP to delete voters 'en masse' ahead of 2023 polls: Minister Priyank Kharge
Bengaluru (PTI): Karnataka Minister Priyank Kharge on Thursday alleged that Form 7 was misused under the previous BJP government to delete voters "en masse", ahead of May 2023 Assembly polls.
His remarks followed claims by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi, who cited Karnataka's example, that votes of party supporters were being systematically deleted ahead of elections.
Form 7 is an application for objecting inclusion of the name of the other person, or seeking deletion of one's own name, or seeking deletion of any other person’s name in the electoral roll due to death or shifting.
Earlier in the day, addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Rahul Gandhi accused Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar of protecting "vote chors" and people who have destroyed democracy, and cited data from Karnataka's Aland Assembly constituency to support his claim that votes of Congress supporters were being systematically deleted ahead of elections.
In Aland segment, someone tried to delete 6,018 votes and got caught by coincidence, he said, alleging that the names of voters of the Congress were being deleted systematically.
Kharge said, "The Vote Chori trail in Aland (in Kalaburagi district) is a shocking case of large-scale voter deletion. Ahead of the May 2023 Assembly election, Form 7 was misused under the BJP government to delete voters en masse."
In a post on X, he claimed that a total of 6,018 deletions were attempted using automated software and fake logins.
He said, "Verification showed 5,994 were forged, only 24 genuine. 2,494 voters were actually deleted before the fraud was caught. Strong Congress booths, especially with Dalit and minority voters, were targeted."
In one instance, 12 voters were deleted in just 14 minutes, pointing to a "sophisticated vote chori factory", Kharge said.
In another case, the identity of a 63-year-old woman was misused to delete 12 voters.
Noting that the Karnataka CID, which is investigating the case has sent 18 letters to the Election Commission of India seeking IP logs, OTP trails, device IDs, and login details, he alleged that the EC has refused to share the critical data.
The Minister said this raises serious questions. "Who approved these deletion records? Where is the OTP audit trail? When will deleted voters be restored? Why is ECI refusing to cooperate with CID? Who is the ECI trying to protect?"
"When the fraud is this clear, what more evidence is the ECI waiting for? Whom are they shielding?" he asked.
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Ordinance issued to increase number of Supreme Court judges from 34 to 38
New Delhi (PTI): The government has promulgated an ordinance to increase the strength of the Supreme Court from the present 34 judges to 38, including the Chief Justice of India.
The law ministry notified the ordinance on Saturday, which amended the Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, 1956, to increase the sanctioned strength of the top court.
So far, the sanctioned strength of the top court was 34, including the Chief Justice of India (CJI). Now, the number of judges has been increased by four, taking the sanctioned strength to 38.
The top court will now have 37 judges, other than the CJI.
With the apex court having two vacancies at present, and the ordinance coming into force immediately, the Supreme Court Collegium will now have to recommend six names for appointment as judges in the top court.
A bill will be brought in the Monsoon Session of Parliament to convert the ordinance – an executive order – into a law passed by Parliament.
The Union Cabinet had cleared a draft bill on May 5 to increase the number of apex court judges.
The strength of the Supreme Court was last increased from 30 to 33 (excluding the CJI) in 2019.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Act, as originally enacted in 1956, put the maximum number of judges (excluding the CJI) at 10.
This number was increased to 13 by the Supreme Court (Number of Judges), Amendment Act, 1960, and to 17 by another amendment to the law.
The Supreme Court (Number of Judges) Amendment Act, 1986, augmented the strength of judges from 17 to 25, excluding the CJI.
A fresh amendment in 2009 further increased the strength from 25 to 30.
Article 124(3) of the Constitution lists the qualifications required to become a Supreme Court judge.
An Indian citizen who has either served as a high court judge for at least five years, or as an advocate for 10 years, or is a distinguished jurist, can be appointed to the top court.
The strength of the Supreme Court is increased based on the recommendations of the CJI, who writes to the Union law minister. After consulting the finance ministry, the Department of Justice under the law ministry moves the Cabinet with a draft bill.
