ECI says no vote can be deleted online by the public; clarifies on Aland deletion attempts
The Election Commission of India said on 19 September 2025 that no vote can be deleted online by any member of the public, and that of 6,018 online deletion applications in Aland, Karnataka, only 24 were found genuine.
Summary
The Election Commission of India (ECI) said on 19 September 2025 that no vote can be deleted online by any member of the public. Electors can file Form 7 online to seek deletion of an entry, but under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, no name is deleted without notice to the affected person and an opportunity to be heard. In Aland, Karnataka, 6,018 Form 7 deletion applications were filed online; only 24 were found genuine and accepted, and 5,994 were rejected. The Electoral Registration Officer of Aland registered an FIR in February 2023 over the suspicious attempts.
Key facts
- Date
- 19 Sep 2025, ECI statement
- Rule
- Registration of Electors Rules, 1960: notice and hearing before deletion
- Form
- Form 7 (deletion application)
- Aland, Karnataka
- 6,018 applications; 24 genuine, 5,994 rejected
- FIR
- No. 26/2023, Aland Police Station, 21 Feb 2023, by the ERO
Practice MCQs 2 questions
Which form can an elector file to apply for deletion of an entry from the electoral roll, as referred to by the ECI in September 2025?
Show answer
Correct answer: D — Form 7
Form 7 is used to apply for deletion of an entry; filing it does not by itself delete the entry.
Consider the following statements based on the ECI's statement of 19 September 2025: 1. Under the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, no name is deleted without notice to the affected person and an opportunity of being heard. 2. Of 6,018 online deletion applications in Aland, Karnataka, 5,994 were accepted. Which of the above is/are correct?
Show answer
Correct answer: B — 1 only
Only statement 1 is correct: only 24 of the 6,018 Aland applications were found genuine and accepted, while 5,994 were rejected.