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Hyderabad: The Telangana High Court on Monday, June 29, directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to consider printing enumeration forms in Urdu, noting a substantial Urdu-speaking population in Hyderabad.

ECI’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) electoral rolls process began in Telangana on June 25 and will continue till July 24.

A single bench consisting of Justice Bollam Vijaysen Reddy is hearing a writ petition filed by social activist MA Mujeeb Ayyub.

The petitioner has questioned ECI’s decision to print the forms in English and Telugu and not in Urdu, despite Urdu being widely spoken by 20 per cent of Hyderabad’s voters.

Hyderabad is a metropolitan city and people from several places in like Rajasthan, Maharashtra, and Karnataka, have settled down. This could significantly and inadvertently impact citizens who are not fluent in either Telugu or English, the petitioner argued.

ECI’s defence

Avinash Desai, appearing for the Election Commission, told the High Court that the body was following “standard policy.”

The election body reasoned that the SIR forms were printed in Telugu as it is the official language in Telangana, and in the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation (GHMC) area, the forms are in English.

Further, to print in Telugu and English was a unanimous decision taken at a meeting attended by representatives of all political parties.

Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have been instructed to carry five to 10 dummy enumeration forms in Urdu to help electors better understand and fill out the forms, the counsel said.

The High Court adjourned the matter for next week.