Committees sometimes pad the rolls with fake or ineligible 'members' to win. The HRRS Act, 2012 requires the voters' list to be published and lets any member challenge it before the District Registrar before voting.
In plain words: an election fixed by stuffing the rolls with fake or ineligible 'members' can be challenged. The HRRS Act, 2012 requires the voters' list to be published, and lets any member challenge it before the District Registrar, who decides the genuine list before voting takes place.
The problem
Just before an election, the committee enrols a batch of 'members' — people who don't live there, don't qualify, or never paid — to pack the vote. Genuine residents find their numbers suddenly diluted.
What the HRRS Act says
- The list must be published. Section 39(3): before the election, the list of members entitled to vote is published and made available to members.
- You can challenge it. Section 39(4): any person or group aggrieved by the wrongful inclusion or non-inclusion of a member may file a petition before the District Registrar within 15 days of publication, stating the specific grounds (extendable by seven days).
- A deterrent against frivolous challenges. Section 39(5): the Registrar may require a surety, refundable if the petition succeeds.
- The Registrar decides the genuine list. Sections 39(6)-(8): the District Registrar holds the election in abeyance, conducts an inquiry, and determines the list of members genuinely eligible to vote before setting the election in motion — with full inquiry powers.
- Voting is tied to genuine membership. Section 20(2): only a genuine member, not in arrears, has the right to vote.
What you can do, step by step
- Get the published voters' list and scrutinise it against who actually qualifies.
- File a specific, evidenced petition before the District Registrar within 15 days under Section 39(4) — name the bogus entries and why they are ineligible.
- The Registrar verifies and fixes the genuine list before the vote. Where the padding is large-scale, it can also feed an inquiry under Section 54.
How Vakil Help Desk helps
We scrutinise voters' lists, draft the Section 39 challenge with the evidence, and argue it before the District Registrar in time. If your society's rolls are being packed before an election, contact Vakil Help Desk quickly — the 15-day window is tight.
General information on the HRRS Act, 2012, not legal advice.