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 older 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.
Under the current SIR guidelines, Rao has reportedly been asked to appear in person for a hearing in Malleshwaram, Bengaluru, near the Indian Institute of Science (IISc). The guidelines state that the individual named in the notice must attend the hearing.
However, a representative of Rao said that, according to office records and emails, the scientist had not received a formal physical notice as of Wednesday afternoon, although his case had appeared on public lists.
Rao is not the only prominent citizen affected by the electoral roll verification exercise. Padma Shri awardee and social activist Harekala Hajabba reportedly 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.
