Bharat Ratna awardee and eminent scientist Professor C.N.R. Rao was reported to have been flagged during Karnataka’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls over a discrepancy in his name. However, the Election Commission later clarified that no notice was served on Rao or his family and that his electoral record had been verified and approved for inclusion in the final roll.
The initial report said the discrepancy was categorised as a “self-name mismatch”. Rao’s name reportedly appeared as “Prof CNR Rao” in the older electoral roll, while the current roll carried an additional “f”, recording it as “Proff CNR Rao”.
Under the SIR process, a “self-name mismatch” refers to a discrepancy between an elector’s details in the 2002 electoral roll and the particulars in the current electoral roll.
EC says no notice was issued
The Election Commission subsequently disputed the claim that Rao had been served a notice.
According to the poll panel, Rao is a registered voter in Part No. 59 of the 157-Malleswaram Assembly constituency. The SIR enumeration form was personally handed over to him at his residence by senior election officials, including the State SVEEP Nodal Officer, the Bengaluru West City Corporation Commissioner, the Malleswaram Electoral Registration Officer and the Booth Level Officer.
The EC said the discrepancy was identified while comparing his current electoral details with the 2002 roll, but “no notice was issued to Rao or any member of his family.”
The Booth Level Officer subsequently recommended the record for approval, and the Additional Electoral Registration Officer approved it for inclusion in the final electoral roll on September 8, the poll panel said.
Rao’s office says it had not received any notice
A representative from Rao’s office also said they had not received a physical notice.
“It appears to have been put online on the ECI website. I am not clear about that one; I have not seen it,” the representative said.
“According to the office records and email, there is no notice as of now. A physical letter also has not reached us,” the representative added.
One of India’s most decorated scientists
Born in Bengaluru in 1934, the 92-year-old Rao is regarded as one of India’s most distinguished scientists. His work has spanned solid-state chemistry, structural chemistry and nanomaterials.
He founded the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) in 1976 and served as the institute’s director from 1984 to 1994. He has authored more than 1,600 research papers and received numerous national and international honours.
Rao was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2013, becoming the third scientist to receive India’s highest civilian honour.
The episode comes amid scrutiny of Karnataka’s ongoing SIR exercise, with other prominent personalities also facing discrepancies in electoral records. The Karnataka CEO had earlier clarified that a similar notice issued to Padma Shri awardee Harekala Hajabba related to a mismatch in electoral records and that his case was subsequently resolved.
The key clarification from the Election Commission is that, despite reports of a SIR notice, no notice was actually served on C.N.R. Rao and his electoral record has been cleared for inclusion in the final roll.
