COMPLAINT FORM FOR DELETION OF NAME IN THE VOTERS' LIST

To

District Election Officer/ State Election Commissioner, 

Maharashtra

Please treat this as an official complaint from a voter who was denied her right to vote in Pune on the 17th of April. Please let me know the reason why my name was deleted from the voters’ list with documentary evidence. Please let me know what action you have taken against the officers/staff who have wrongly deleted my name. Please ensure my name is put back in the voters’ list and send me the details. 

Name/address:

Voting card no: (if you have otherwise ignore)

.

Contact no:

Voting booth: (if you know)

Assembly Constituency:

Reason for Complaint

Date

Signature

--------------------------

SAMPLE RTI FORM APPLICATION UNDER SEC 6 OF THE RTI ACT

ANNEXURE-A (see rule 3)

Application for obtaining information under the Right to Information Act, 2005

To,

The Public Information Officer,

Sir/ Madam,

1.Full Name of the Applicant:
2. Address:
3.Particulars of the information Required:
a)     Subject matter of the information:	Documents relating to my deletion of my name/names from the current  voters’ list
b)    The period to which information relates:	2009 to 2014
c)     Description of the Information Required: 1.     Page of the voter roll list which had my name/names earlier and page of the voter roll list in which my name has been deleted 2.     Copy of the notice sent to me before deletion of my name/names 3.     Copy of the hearing sent to me as a result of the notice 4.     Copy of the public notice issued in the newspaper announcing my name/names for deletion 5.     All correspondence related to the procedure that led to the deletion of my name
d)    Whether the information is required by post or in person:
4. Whether the Applicant is below the poverty line:
5. Enclosures:	1.      Copy of my voter’s card/cards (If you have one) 2.

Place:

Date:

Signature of the Applicant.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

APPLICATION UNDER SECTION 4 OF RTI ACT WHERE YOU CAN DEMAND INSPECTION OF FILES AND COPIES OF THE DOCUMENTS MENTIONED

Date:

To

The District Election Officer

Election Office

Old Zilla Parishad

Pune.

Sub: Inspection of files under Section 4 of the RTI Act of documents pertaining to 

deletion of my name/names in the current voters’ list

Dear Sir,

My name is ………………….. 

My name was registered in the ……………………….

Despite this, I was unable to vote on April 17th

was deleted.

Under Section 4 of the RTI Act, I wish to inspect and get a copy of the following 

documents:

1. Page of the voter roll list which had my name/names earlier and page of 

the voter roll list in which my name has been deleted

2. Copy of the notice sent to me before deletion of my name/names

3. Copy of the hearing sent to me as a result of the notice

4. Copy of the public notice issued in the newspaper announcing my name/

names for deletion

5. All correspondence related to the procedure that led to the deletion of my 

name

 for the Lok Sabha elections as my name 

Please note that all the above documents come under Section 4 of the RTI Act 

and hence should have been put up suo motu by you on the website. As it has 

not been done, I would like you to give them to me now.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely---

COMPLAINT FORM FOR DELETION OF NAME IN THE VOTERS' LIST

To

District Election Officer/ State Election Commissioner, 

Maharashtra

Please treat this as an official complaint from a voter who was denied her right to vote in Pune on the 17th of April. Please let me know the reason why my name was deleted from the voters’ list with documentary evidence. Please let me know what action you have taken against the officers/staff who have wrongly deleted my name. Please ensure my name is put back in the voters’ list and send me the details. 

Name/address:

Voting card no: (if you have otherwise ignore)

.

Contact no:

Voting booth: (if you know)

Assembly Constituency:

Reason for Complaint

Date

Signature

--------------------------

SAMPLE RTI FORM APPLICATION UNDER SEC 6 OF THE RTI ACT

ANNEXURE-A (see rule 3)

Application for obtaining information under the Right to Information Act, 2005

To,

The Public Information Officer,

Sir/ Madam,

1.Full Name of the Applicant:
2. Address:
3.Particulars of the information Required:
a)     Subject matter of the information:	Documents relating to my deletion of my name/names from the current  voters’ list
b)    The period to which information relates:	2009 to 2014
c)     Description of the Information Required: 1.     Page of the voter roll list which had my name/names earlier and page of the voter roll list in which my name has been deleted 2.     Copy of the notice sent to me before deletion of my name/names 3.     Copy of the hearing sent to me as a result of the notice 4.     Copy of the public notice issued in the newspaper announcing my name/names for deletion 5.     All correspondence related to the procedure that led to the deletion of my name
d)    Whether the information is required by post or in person:
4. Whether the Applicant is below the poverty line:
5. Enclosures:	1.      Copy of my voter’s card/cards (If you have one) 2.

Place:

Date:

Signature of the Applicant.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

APPLICATION UNDER SECTION 4 OF RTI ACT WHERE YOU CAN DEMAND INSPECTION OF FILES AND COPIES OF THE DOCUMENTS MENTIONED

Date:

To

The District Election Officer

Election Office

Old Zilla Parishad

Pune.

Sub: Inspection of files under Section 4 of the RTI Act of documents pertaining to 

deletion of my name/names in the current voters’ list

Dear Sir,

My name is ………………….. 

My name was registered in the ……………………….

Despite this, I was unable to vote on April 17th

was deleted.

Under Section 4 of the RTI Act, I wish to inspect and get a copy of the following 

documents:

1. Page of the voter roll list which had my name/names earlier and page of 

the voter roll list in which my name has been deleted

2. Copy of the notice sent to me before deletion of my name/names

3. Copy of the hearing sent to me as a result of the notice

4. Copy of the public notice issued in the newspaper announcing my name/

names for deletion

5. All correspondence related to the procedure that led to the deletion of my 

name

 for the Lok Sabha elections as my name 

Please note that all the above documents come under Section 4 of the RTI Act 

and hence should have been put up suo motu by you on the website. As it has 

not been done, I would like you to give them to me now.

Thanking you,

Yours sincerely---

Income Tax authorities have denied information about I-T returns of 22 MPs, including Sharad Pawar, Naveen Jindal, Maneka Gandhi, Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Beni Prasad Verma, Ajit Singh and Lalu Prasad Yadav and 20 MLAs. After suspending the hearing 27 times for over three years, the CIC has given the MPs and MLAs three weeks to file their replies

It often takes just one election victory of five years—for Members of the Parliament and Legislative Assemblies to get stinking rich, what with their wealth increasing a 1,000 times, in some cases.
 

According to a research carried out by the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR), the Lok Sabha MPs (2004-2009) have had an average increase in assets to the tune of 289% or Rs2.9 crore per MP within five years.
 

As for the MPs from the Rajya Sabha, BJP has 14 out of 16 candidates who are crorepatis, followed by Congress with 12 crorepati candidates out of 15 candidates. “There is also the issue of conflict of interest,” says Anil Bairwal of ADR. “58% of the Rajya Sabha members are ‘crorepatis’ with flourishing professional practices, shareholding in media, infrastructure, hospitality besides paid consultancy and other engagements,” he adds.
 

Thus, Bairwal says, “Going by the swelling in the pouches of our MPs and MLAs in the 2009 elections, it is extremely desirable that their I-T returns are made public. The recent increase in the assets of Members of Parliament (MPs) portrays some figures which appear lopsided and doubtful. There are parliamentarians who have increased their assets more than one thousand times over while in Parliament. Furthermore, what is the foundation of this breeding money among the political parties, nobody knows.”
 

Bairwal has filled innumerable RTI applications in the relevant Income Tax offices of the 22 MPs and 20 MLAs, which he zeroed on, considering the increase in their assets between 2004 and 2009.  His RTIs, which were filed in 2010 were stonewalled by all the respective Public Information Officers and Appellate Authorities. In fact, his second appeal with the Central Information Commission (CIC) was suspended 27 times until it was finally heard on 16 April 2013, a good three years later. Once again, three more weeks have been given to reply.
 

The prominent names in the list of 22 MPs and 20 MLAs whose I-T returns were asked for under RTI are Sharad Pawar, Naveen Jindal, Maneka Gandhi, Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia, Navjot Singh Sidhu, Beni Prasad Verma, Ajit Singh and Lalu Prasad Yadav.

Bairwal has asked for the following information in his RTI application:
 

1. Whether the MPs/MLAs who fall in your jurisdiction have filed their I-T returns for all the five years (2004-2009)
 

2. Please provide the years for which these MPs have not filed their returns
 

3. Please provide details of the -IT return & assessment orders for all the years for which they have filed.
 

Apart from the RTI application, Bairwal also separately requested all Rajya Sabha and Lok Sabha MPs to disclose their I-T returns in larger public interest. Says Bairwal, “Some of these MPs sent us their I-T Returns and insisted that we make them public on our website whereas others uploaded them on their own website. We also came across some MPs and MLAs who have already submitted their I-T returns along with the respective chief minister's office and the prime minister's office.’’ In all, 28 of them including Anu Aga and Ambika Soni have revealed their I-T returns – (see box below).
 

As per the press release issued by ADR on 16 April 2013 “Of the 20 MPs whose I-T returns were asked for under RTI, the details of only three MPs—Mr Baju Ban Ryan MP from Tripura East constituency), Mr Shafiqur Rahman Barq (MP from Sambhal constituency ofUttar Pradesh) and Ms Usha Verma (MP from Hardoi constituency of Uttar Pradesh) were made available by the Public Information Officers (PIO). The I-T returns of others MPs were denied under various sections, like 8(1)(j), 8(1)(d), 11(1) and 11(3) of the RTI Act. TheRTIs of seven MPs were transferred but lost in transit hence no information was available.”
 

At the CIC hearing, representatives of 10 out of 20 MPs were present. The public information officers who denied the information stating lack of larger public interest and the representatives of MPs/ MLAs were invited for the hearing. The bench comprised Information Commissoners (IC) Mr ML Sharma, Ms Annapurna Dixit and Mr Rajiv Mathur.
 

The three CICs repeatedly questioned the representatives of the MPs as to how disclosing of their I-T returns was not in larger public interest. They repeatedly referred to theSupreme Court judgment which made declarations of assets and other details mandatory at thetime of contesting elections.. However, no arguments were put forth by the Public information Officers of the I-T department who had initially denied providing the information stating lack of public interest, states the press statement of ADR.
 

Mr Bairwal argued that there is overriding public interest in I-T returns of the MPs and that most of the requested information was already in public domain as the total income filed in the latest I-T returns of all candidates have to be provided in their affidavits along with their nomination papers to the Election Commission of India (ECI).
 

Mr Bairwal stated during the argument at the CIC that, “the Supreme Court has deliberated in detail on this issue while directing the ECI to collect and make public the information on assets of the contesting candidates at the time of elections through affidavits. The Supreme Court of India had specifically noted through its decision on 13 March 2003 (Writ Petition No. 490/509/515 of 2002) that asking for asset details of the parliamentarians/legislatures does not invade the privacy of the individual.”
 

Amongst the arguments put forth by representatives of MPs, Mr Ajith Singh’s senior advocate argued “that if the MPs are considered public servants, the I-T returns of everypublic servant should be requested for; lawyers of Mr Jyotiraditya Madhavrao Scindia argued that any tax payer serves larger public interest by paying tax hence their personal information cannot be made available in the public domain; the representative of Kumari Selja when asked if he would be willing to declare his/his client’s I-T returns, stated that “rule of privacy will prevail” and “I am not obliged under law to declare my I-T returns in the public domain”.
 

The attendees included lawyers, chartered accountants and representatives of Mr Uday Singh, Ms Maneka Gandhi, Mr Sachin Pilot, Mr Dushyant Singh, Kumari Selja, Mr Beni Prasad Verma, Mr Ajith Singh, Mr Lalu Prasad Yadav and Mr T R Baalu.
 

The CIC has given three weeks’ time for the representatives of the MPs to provide a copy of their written submissions after which it will give its decision.
 

Says Mr Bairwal, “Tax returns of Parliamentarians are voluntarily being disclosed in countries like the US and UK. Presidential tax returns in the United States are available online. Like all other citizens, US presidents also enjoy the protection of their privacy, but they chose to release their tax returns publicly. Tax returns of Barack Obama, George W Bush and others are available online. (www.Presidentsusa.net). Their tax returns are open for public scrutiny and such sort of a transparency is truly commendable. Our parliamentarians should also do likewise as this will underline the faith of the citizens in the representatives chosen by them…”
 

State Average asset in 2007(Rs) Average asset in 2012(Rs) Percentage Goa 2.91 crore 7.65 crore 163% Punjab 5.73 crore 9.17 crore 60% Uttar Pradesh 98.05 lakh 3.10 crore 217% Uttaranchal 83 lakh 2 crore 177% Manipur 20 lakh 1 crore 492%

The timeline of events for MP I-T returns case 1. 22 February 2010: An RTI was filed with the respective I-T departments to retrieve I-T Returns of 20 MPs with exponential growth in assets between two elections. 2. 6 May 2010: First Appeal with I-T department for follow up on information denied under Sections 8(1)(j), 8(1)(e) and 8(1)(d) of the RTI Act 3. 20 August 2010: Second Appeal with Central Information Commission. 4. 20 April 2012: Notice for the first hearing at CIC sent to concerned parties. 5. 3 May 2012: First hearing with the CIC takes place for MP Uday Singh and MP Dushyant Singh 6. 8 November 2012: Notice for second hearing of CIC was sent to concerned parties in the case. 7. 22 November 2012: Second hearing at CIC takes place. Press Release for this CIC hearing to make MP I-T Returns public. 8. 22 November 2013: Submission No. I filed with the CIC on the day of this hearing. 9. 7 March 2013: Notice for the hearing of the full bench of CIC sent to concerned parties. 10. 4 April 2013: Submission No. II filed with the CIC based on voluntary disclosure by MPs prior to the full bench hearing. 11. 12 April 2013: Larger Bench of CIC to hear the case on making income tax returns of MPs public. 12. 16 April 2013: Hearing with the larger bench at CIC takes place.

Those who voluntarily put their Income Tax returns in the public domain
S No	Name	State	Constituency	Party	MP/MLA	ITR
1	Neeraj Shekhar	UP	Ballia	SP	MP LS	ITR
2	Sadashiv Dadoba Mandlik	Maharashtra	Kolhapur	IND	MP LS	ITR
3	Abhijit Mukherjee	West Bengal	Jangipur	INC	MP LS	ITR
4	Mirza Mehboob Beg	J&K	Anantnag	J&K National Conference	MP LS	ITR
5	Bijoy Krishna Handique	Assam	Jorhat	INC	MP LS	ITR
6	Arnavaz Rohinton Aga	Maharashtra	NIL	Nominated	MP RS	ITR
7	Raju Anna Shetty	Maharashtra	Hatkanangle	Swabhimani Paksha	MP LS	ITR
8	Dr Ajoy Kumar	Jharkhand	Jamshedpur	JVM	MP LS	ITR
9	Mandagadde Rama Jois	Karnataka	Karnataka	BJP	MP RS	ITR
10	Dinesh Trivedi	West Bengal	Barrackpur	AITC	MP LS	ITR
11	Vilas Baburao Muttemwar	Maharashtra	Nagpur	INC	MP LS	ITR
12	Baishnab Charan Parida	Orissa	Orissa	BJD	MP RS	ITR
13	Tathagata Satpathy	Orissa	Dhenkanal	BJD	MP LS	ITR
14	Baju Ban Riyan	Tripura	Tripura East	CPI(M)	MP LS	ITR
15	Sudip Bandyopadhyay	West Bengal	Kolkata Utter	AITC	MP LS	ITR
16	Subodh Kant Sahay	Jharkhand	Ranchi	INC	MP LS	ITR
17	Pratik Prakashbapu Patil	Maharashtra	Sangli	INC	MP LS	ITR
18	Mahadeo Singh Khandela	Rajasthan	Sikar	INC	MP LS	ITR
19	Ajay Maken	Delhi	New Delhi	INC	MP LS	ITR
20	AmbikaSoni	Punjab	Punjab	INC	MP RS	ITR
21	Sadanand Singh	Bihar	Kahalgaon	INC	MLA	ITR
22	Pramod Kumar	Bihar	Motihari	BJP	MLA	ITR
23	Subodh Roy	Bihar	Sultanganj	JDU	MLA	ITR
24	Virendra Beniwal	Rajasthan	Lunkaransar	INC	MLA	ITR
25	Rajkumar Sharma	Rajasthan	Nawalgarh	INC (contested on BSP ticket)	MLA	ITR
26	Rajendra Pareek	Rajasthan	Sikar	INC	MLA	ITR
27	Murari Lal Meena	Rajasthan	Dasua	INC (contested on BSP ticket)	MLA	ITR
28	Hema Ram Choudhry	Rajasthan	Gudamalani	INC	MLA	ITR