Hyderabad: Telangana high court on Thursday directed Election Commission and state govt to file their counters in a petition filed by Adivasi Sena, a tribal rights society, seeking directions to poll authorities to delete illegally enrolled non-tribal voters from electoral rolls in the Agency areas (areas under the Fifth Schedule) during the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) exercise. Areas falling under the Fifth Schedule (of the Constitution) are designated to safeguard local land rights, culture, and governance of tribals in these areas.A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Aparesh Kumar Singh and Justice GM Mohiuddin, passed the directions before adjourning the case by two weeks.Adivasi Sena president M Doulath Rao and others of the association alleged that inclusion of non-tribal migrants in the Scheduled Areas would allow them to continue as voters illegally, which is contrary to the statutory constitutional scheme applicable to the Scheduled Areas.Ch. Ravi Kumar, counsel for the petitioners, contended that Adivasi Sena has been making representations to the chief election commissioner and the chief electoral officer, Telangana, requesting them to delete illegal voters who secured entry into the electoral rolls of the Agency areas by manipulating residential proofs.They also sought directions to declare the SIR process illegal, directing strict scrutiny of enumeration forms to delete ineligible non-tribal voters, mandating gram sabha approval and Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA) clearance for future enrolments, and training for election officials — along with interim directions to act on the pending representations before final publication of revised rolls. ITDAs are govt agencies aimed at promoting the welfare and development of Scheduled Tribes (STs) in the Agency areas.
