Maharashtra CEO Seeks More ECINET Powers
The state election chief has sought changes to ECINET so Electoral Registration Officers can exercise greater discretion during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Maharashtra Chief Electoral Officer S. Chockalingam has sought changes to the Election Commission of India’s ECINET software to give Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) greater flexibility while handling cases during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Chockalingam’s request includes allowing EROs to decide certain cases involving logical discrepancies when they are satisfied with the evidence, rather than automatically sending supporting documents to the District Election Officer for verification.
The Maharashtra CEO also sought an option within the ERO/AERO login to exempt eligible voters from personal hearings when satisfactory documents have already been submitted. The request cited Rule 20(3) of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, which provides EROs discretion over whether an elector needs to appear personally.
Another proposal was to allow an “Other/Other Equivalent Document” option for cases where voters do not possess documents listed by the Election Commission. The proposal noted that the prescribed document list should not prevent EROs from considering other valid evidence where they are satisfied about its relevance and authenticity.
The issue comes amid wider scrutiny of ECINET, the Election Commission’s unified digital platform for electoral services and roll management. The ECI has maintained that statutory responsibilities remain with designated officials such as EROs, while centralised technology is used for database management and cybersecurity.
On September 26, the ECI announced a committee to review ECINET and examine whether its functioning complies with relevant laws and rules. The committee will be headed by a Senior Deputy Election Commissioner and include an independent expert from an IIT or IIIT.
The Commission has also recently modified the SIR notice process. For voters issued notices because they are unmapped or have logical discrepancies, Booth Level Officers will collect documents from their homes and upload them on ECINET. Such voters will ordinarily not have to appear personally before an ERO or AERO, with hearings reserved for exceptional cases.
The ECI has extended Maharashtra’s deadline for filing claims and objections to October 12, 2026, while the deadline for disposal of notices and claims and objections has been extended to November 10.