ECI Rejects New Family Register Certificates For Telangana Voter Verification

In a setback to the state government, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has refused to accept newly-introduced Family Register Certificates (FRCs) for voter verification during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Telangana, official directives sent to the state chief electoral officer in Hyderabad revealed. The ECI clarified that while new FRCs are invalid for the revision drive, Family Member Certificates issued prior to July 25, 2026, under a June 25, 2013 memo will remain valid.

The Congress-led state government ordered the issuance of FRCs to ration card holders on July 25, citing concerns that lakhs of legitimate voters might risk losing their voting rights during the electoral roll revision. However, the decision faced sharp opposition from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which petitioned the ECI alleging that the new certificates were introduced mid-process to shield ineligible voters. A batch of writ petitions was also filed in the Telangana High Court challenging the validity of using a welfare database for voter eligibility.

According to a directive issued by ECI Secretary Navin Kumar, the newly introduced FRC is derived entirely from the state's Food Security Card database. As a result, the ECI ruled that the certificate is merely equivalent to a ration card, which under Supreme Court precedent cannot serve as conclusive proof of citizenship or eligibility for updating electoral rolls.

The ECI noted that under the earlier system, Family Member Certificates were issued by Tahsildars following detailed field-level inquiries and document verification. In contrast, the new FRCs issued under G.O. Ms. No. 172 are reportedly generated online within two days based primarily on ration card data without prior field verification, making them unsuitable as primary citizenship or identity proofs.

Welcoming the ruling, BJP leader Marri Shashidhar Reddy claimed the FRC introduction was an attempt to affect the SIR cleansing process. Meanwhile, Mohammed Ali Shabbir, adviser to the Telangana government, stated that the state government will seek legal opinion on the ECI decision to find a legally sustainable solution that protects genuine citizens while preserving electoral roll integrity.