The New Indian Express ·
Bharat Ratna scientist CNR Rao issued SIR notice over extra ‘F’ in name; officials to verify at home
NEW DELHI: Eminent scientist and Bharat Ratna awardee Professor C N R Rao has been issued a notice during Karnataka’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls after an automated system flagged a discrepancy in his name.
The 92-year-old scientist’s electoral record from 2002 reportedly lists his name as “Prof C N R Rao”. However, his current electoral roll entry contains a typographical error, reading “Proff C N R Rao”, with an additional “f”. The automated system classified the difference as a “self-mismatch”, prompting authorities to seek identity verification.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said it will send officials to Rao's Bengaluru residence to verify and correct the discrepancy in his electoral roll entry, following criticism over a communication asking him to attend a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearing.
An ECI official confirmed that Rao would not be required to visit the designated hearing centre and that poll personnel would instead conduct the verification at his home and correct the discrepancy.
Under the current SIR guidelines, Rao has reportedly been asked to appear in person for a hearing in Bengaluru's Malleshwaram, near the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). The guidelines state that the individual named in the notice must attend the hearing.
However, representatives of Rao’s family said the matter was simply a spelling error and had not caused any inconvenience to the scientist. They maintained that they are in touch with the ECI team, who, in fact, offered to come and get this correction done.
They also claimed that no formal notice had been issued to Rao. According to him, the ECI had contacted the family and offered to send officials to make the necessary correction.
Rao, one of India’s most distinguished scientists and chemists, was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2014, becoming the fourth Indian scientist to receive the country’s highest civilian honour.
Born in 1934, Rao earned an MSc from Banaras Hindu University in 1953 and a PhD from Purdue University in 1958. He has held positions at institutions including the Indian Institute of Science and IIT Kanpur. He served as National Research Professor and chaired the Scientific Advisory Council to the Prime Minister from 1985-89 and again from 2005-14.
Notably, Rao is not the only prominent citizen affected by the electoral roll verification exercise.
Padma Shri awardee and social activist Harekala Hajabba faced a similar name mismatch, which election officials later resolved.
Nobel laureate economist Amartya Sen was also flagged over a spelling discrepancy but was reportedly exempted from appearing in person.