Ex-editor of ‘The Telegraph’ gets passport after months-long ordeal over SIR deletion

R Rajagopal, a former editor of The Telegraph, on Saturday received his renewed passport after a months-long ordeal that followed his removal from West Bengal’s voter rolls during the special intensive revision exercise, he told Scroll.

Rajagopal, who was editor of The Telegraph between 2016 and 2023, had applied to renew the document in February.

On June 27, he said that he had been removed as a voter in West Bengal during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in March, apparently because neither his nor his father’s name could be traced in the 2002 electoral rolls.

Rajagopal said that his name had been excluded by the Election Commission, citing “logical discrepancies”, which refer to situations such as a mismatch in parents’ names, a small age gap between parents and children or parents being recorded as having more than six children.

On June 17, the Regional Passport Office in Kolkata told him that the police had submitted an adverse verification report on his passport renewal application, citing his deletion from the voter rolls.

He added that he was informed that the alternative documents he had submitted were insufficient.

No additional documents sought

However, between then and the issuance of his renewed passport, the authorities sought no additional documents from Rajagopal, he told Scroll.

He said that Kerala Chief Minister VD Satheesan had on Monday written to West Bengal Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari regarding the case. On the same day, the Kolkata passport office emailed him asking him to request fresh police verification.

Rajagopal’s family hails from Kerala and he was born in Thiruvananthapuram. His father was the former state secretary of the non-profit organisation Gandhi Smarak Nidhi in Kerala.

“At no point were any additional documents sought,” he said.

Soon after the email, he received a message that his passport had been processed.

In view of this, he said it seems clear that his case had been expedited only because of the political pressure.

‘Government needs to clarify’

The journalist pointed out that the Union government and the administration in West Bengal should clarify whether the data collected during the special intensive revision exercise could be used for any other purpose besides revising electoral rolls.

“Unless and until there is policy clarity on this issue, it is difficult to claim any real relief,” he said.

He told The Probe that if the voter roll revision data could be used arbitrarily by the police, “it is a dangerous situation for people”.

Voter roll revision and citizenship

The special intensive revision of voter rolls in West Bengal was carried out before the Assembly elections in April.

Final rolls published in February initially excluded more than 61 lakh voters, with the process continuing through supplementary lists and adjudication of about 60 lakh “doubtful and pending” cases.

By April 6, about 91 lakh voters, nearly 11.9% of West Bengal’s electorate before the revision process began, had been removed from the electoral rolls.

Ahead of the Assembly elections, about 34 lakh appeals were reportedly pending before appellate tribunals. Of these, 27 lakh were filed by persons who were excluded from the voter list. The tribunals, set up as part of the special intensive revision process, had allowed 1,607 names to be added back to the electoral rolls.

The voter list revision has taken place in several other states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Kerala in the past year. The third phase is underway in 16 states and three Union Territories.

On May 27, the Supreme Court upheld the legality of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls conducted by the Election Commission, saying that the exercise “advances the constitutional imperative of free and fair elections”.

However, the court said that the poll panel’s inquiries for the purpose of including a person in the voter list do not mean that it can decide whether the person is an Indian citizen.

On Wednesday, the Ministry of External Affairs reiterated that the passport is a travel document and not proof of citizenship.

Written by Sneha. Edited by Sara Varghese.

Also read: An ex-editor writes: My name was deleted during SIR. Now police won’t clear my passport application