Telangana HC asks EC to consider Urdu forms in select constituencies 'SIR'

Justice B Vijaysen Reddy of the Telangana High Court on Monday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to consider providing Enumeration Forms in Urdu, at the option of electors, in constituencies where the population of Urdu-speaking voters exceeds 20 per cent.

The direction came in a writ petition challenging the decision to print and distribute Enumeration Forms for the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls exclusively in Telugu



outside the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits.

Senior Counsel V Raghunath, appearing for the petitioner, contended that restricting the forms to Telugu discriminates against linguistic minorities, migrant populations and a sizeable section of Urdu-speaking voters in the State. He argued that voters should not have to depend on Booth Level Officers for translated forms and that access to forms in a language understood by voters is a constitutional right.