Former navy chief Admiral Arun Prakash (retd) and his wife have received notices under Goa's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) to submit additional documents to establish their identity as voters. They are marked in the 'unmapped' category due to absence from the 2002 voter list. The admiral stated they will comply but questioned the process's efficiency for elderly citizens.
Former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash (retd), a Vir Chakra awardee for his role in the 1971 India-Pakistan War, has settled in Goa since retirement. During the Election Commission of India's (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls for 2026, he and his 78-year-old wife received notices to appear before electoral officers and establish their identity. The notices cite incomplete details in their enumeration forms and absence from the 2002 voter list, placing them in the 'unmapped' category.
Admiral Prakash, aged 82, posted on X: "I neither need nor have ever asked for any special privileges since retirement 20 years ago. My wife and I had filled the SIR forms as required and were pleased to see our names figured in the Goa Draft Electoral Roll 2026 on the EC website. We will, however, comply with EC notices." He further noted that SIR forms should be revised if they fail to elicit required information, and a booth-level officer (BLO) visited them three times without seeking additional details. The couple has been asked to appear on separate dates, 18 km away, which is inconvenient given their age.
South Goa District Returning Officer Egna Cleetus stated that the admiral falls under the unmapped category and she will review his enumeration form on January 12, 2026. A government official explained the notice was issued due to no records in the 2002 rolls and unfilled details. In Goa, out of 11,85,034 electors, 1,00,042 names were deleted from the draft rolls, including the dead, untraceable, shifted, and duplicates.
The incident has sparked online discussions on bureaucratic inefficiencies, with users suggesting access to government databases like Pension Payment Orders (PPO) and life certificates. Similarly, South Goa MP Viriato Fernandes received a comparable notice last week.
