Duplicate Voter IDs Found in Bengaluru's Mahadevapura After SIR: How EPIC and Voter Roll Rules Work
After the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Karnataka, a check of the final roll of the Mahadevapura Assembly constituency in Bengaluru found 803 voter IDs linked to just 397 people. In several cases, more than three voter IDs were issued in one person's name.
In at least seven cases, the same Elector's Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number appeared in the rolls of two different constituencies (Mahadevapura with Dasarahalli, Sarvagnanagar or Hebbal), making 14 entries in all.
In other cases one person had several different EPIC numbers. More than 500 cases showed the same person with two or more voter IDs in the same polling station, and about 300 more across different polling stations of the constituency.
One voter whose name was removed from the draft roll as "permanently shifted" applied twice for inclusion (Form 6) and now appears twice in the final roll.
Karnataka's final SIR roll was published on October 27, 2026, listing about 4.55 crore electors, nearly one crore fewer than before the revision. Claims of irregular voter entries had earlier been raised about this constituency.
The Office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Karnataka said it had received no formal complaint about duplicate entries, but was tracking cases flagged publicly and would verify them.
Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls
An electoral roll is the official list of voters of a constituency, and only people on it can vote. A Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a very detailed check of this list, in which booth-level officers go house to house to verify every voter. Its aim is to add every eligible person and remove names that should not be there, such as dead voters, people who have shifted, and duplicate entries. It is carried out by the Election Commission of India under Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
Removing duplicate entries is one of the main goals of an SIR. Finding hundreds of duplicate IDs in one constituency's final roll shows that the de-duplication step can miss cases, especially when the same person files Form 6 more than once.
EPIC (Elector's Photo Identity Card): History, Purpose, and Current System
The Elector's Photo Identity Card, or EPIC, is the voter ID card issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to every registered voter. It carries the voter's photo, name, relative's name, address, and a unique EPIC number. Its main purpose is to stop impersonation, which means someone voting in another person's name. Today it is also one of the most widely used identity documents in India.
In Mahadevapura, the final roll showed both kinds of EPIC problems: the same EPIC number appearing in two constituencies, and one person holding several EPIC numbers. Both go against the idea of one voter, one entry, one EPIC number, and the CEO's office has said it will verify these cases.
Representation of the People Act, 1950: The Law Behind Voter Lists and Seats
The Representation of the People Act, 1950 is the law that decides who can be a voter and how voter lists are prepared and revised. It also allocates seats in the Lok Sabha and state legislatures. It works alongside the RPA, 1951, which deals with the actual conduct of elections. For today's news, its most important rules are that one person can be registered only once.
Entries for the same person in Mahadevapura and Hebbal, or several entries in Mahadevapura itself, go against Sections 17 and 18. If a person knowingly applied twice to get such entries, Section 31 can apply.
- Mahadevapura (Bengaluru): 803 voter IDs linked to 397 people in the final SIR roll
- 7 EPIC numbers found in two constituencies each (14 entries): 3 with Dasarahalli, 3 with Sarvagnanagar, 1 with Hebbal
- More than 500 same-polling-station duplicates and about 300 across polling stations in the constituency
- Karnataka final SIR roll published: October 27, 2026; about 4.55 crore electors; about 99.32 lakh fewer than before
- Karnataka draft roll: August 24, 2026
- RPA 1950: Section 17 (one constituency), Section 18 (once only), Section 31 (false declaration, up to 1 year)
- EPIC introduced by ECI order of 28 August 1993