Karnataka fruit seller who won Padma Shri gets SIR notice over name mismatch

Padma Shri winner Harekala Hajabba, who has won accolades for facilitating affordable education in Karnataka’s coastal Dakshina Kannada district, received a notice on Monday as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

According to sources, his name was registered as Hajabba during the 2002 voter roll revision. However, his current documents—such as the ration card, Aadhaar, passport, and voter ID—show his name as Harekala Hajabba. The Election Commission served the notice on Hajabba through a booth-level officer to ascertain whether it is the same voter.

Sources added that the notice directed Hajabba to submit verification documents on September 11. Hajabba is among the 43.81 lakh voters who will get notices during the “disposal of claims and objections phase”, between August 24 and October 22, before the publication of final electoral rolls on October 27.

According to the state chief electoral officer, 7.31 lakh notices generated were delivered to electors. Hearings have been completed in 206 cases, with the numbers expected to pick pace in the coming days. The SIR started in Karnataka on June 30.

The house-to-house visit phase was extended twice—first from July 29 to August 8 and then till August 17.