SIR Software Name Withheld: EC Cites Trade Secrets in RTI Reply
Image: Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka
The Election Commission of India has refused to tell an RTI applicant which software it used to flag errors in voter lists during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), saying the details relate to “commercial confidence, trade secrets and intellectual property”. The reply, dated 16 October and first reported by Hindustan Times on 25 October, went to activist M A Mujeeb Ayyub, who had asked for the software’s name and version and whether it automatically flags voters for correction or deletion. The Commission cited Section 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act, The Wire reported.
Flagged Voters Still Not Told How
The SIR has sent notices to voters over “logical discrepancies” in their records, and draft rolls in the states covered have dropped over 13 crore names. The reply does not explain how a record gets flagged. The Commission said no new software had been developed or procured for the SIR, and that electoral registration officers decide whether to include or delete a name on the basis of facts and records.
It called some of the questions a request for “clarification” rather than “information” under the RTI Act. It also declined to say who reviews flagged records, citing the exemption for information that could endanger a person’s life or physical safety.
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Supreme Court Called Notices ‘Machine-Generated’
Hearing challenges to Delhi’s SIR notices on 22 September, Justice Joymalya Bagchi of the Supreme Court said orally that “in all probability, they are machine-generated notices” and asked the Commission to consider more filters. Chief Justice Surya Kant said the Commission should clarify what it wants from voters flagged for discrepancies. The court had upheld the SIR in May but said the Commission cannot decide citizenship. In September, the Indian Express reported that Election Commissioners Sukhbir Singh Sandhu and Vivek Joshi had objected 14 times in 10 months to SIR-related decisions.
Congress leader Jairam Ramesh said the Commission’s silence on its ECINET platform and the automated tools used in the exercise had damaged its credibility. No public response from the Commission to his criticism had been reported by 9 AM IST on 26 October.
First Appeal Within 30 Days
Under the RTI Act, an applicant refused information can file a first appeal with the Commission’s appellate authority within 30 days and then a second appeal before the Central Information Commission. It is not known whether Ayyub will appeal. The reply does not name the developer of the system the Commission does use, or say how many voters it has flagged. Deleted voters can still apply again through Form 6, and protests over the SIR continued in Delhi last week.
Source: Based on reporting by Hindustan Times, The Wire and Scroll.
Image: Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka.
