The Election Commission of India has issued a notice to former Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Arun Prakash (retd), asking him to attend a meeting to verify his identity as part of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Admiral Prakash, a Vir Chakra awardee for his role in the 1971 India-Pakistan War, has been residing in Goa since his retirement. He noted that SIR forms should be revised if they fail to capture the required information. However, a senior official clarified that his details do not appear in the voter list last updated in 2002, placing him in the “unmapped” category.
Some social media users questioned the need for the notice, pointing out that the ex-Navy chief’s Pension Payment Order (PPO) and life certificate are already available in government databases.
“This is the case in most such situations. Admiral Prakash falls under the unmapped category,” South Goa District Returning Officer Egna Cleetus, who also serves as the district collector, told PTI. She added that she would review his enumeration form on Monday and that authorities would reach out to him directly.
During the ongoing SIR, Admiral Prakash has been asked to appear before the electoral officer after the issuance of a “hearing notice” to establish his identity.
Reacting to the notice online, Admiral Prakash wrote 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 in the Goa Draft Electoral Roll 2026 on the EC website. We will, however, comply with the EC notice.”
He added in another post: “May I point out to @ECIVEEP that (a) if the SIR forms are not evoking required info, they should be revised; (b) the BLO visited us three times and could have asked for additional information; (c) we are an 82/78-year-old couple and have been asked to appear on two different dates, 18 km away.”
Commenting on the post, Lt Col TS Anand (retd) said: “If such a notice does come, every citizen who has their documents in order can comply. In Admiral Prakash’s case, his PPO and Veteran Card should suffice, and for protocol, the SIR team could visit his home.”
Another X user, @LancerFlying, also an Op Vijay and Op Meghdoot veteran, remarked: “His, yours, and my PPO and life certificate are already in the government database. What more does the SIR team need than to access proof digitally? Commonsense is missing.”
