CNR Rao Gets SIR Notice Over Extra ‘F’ In Name On Karnataka Voter Rolls

 Renowned scientist and Bharat Ratna recipient CNR Rao has reportedly been issued a notice under Karnataka’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls over a minor discrepancy in his name.

Rao’s name appears as “Prof CNR Rao” in older electoral records, while the revised entry reportedly spells it “Proff CNR Rao”, adding an extra ‘f’ to the title.

The notice, issued under the “self-name mismatch” category, asks Rao to appear for a hearing in Bengaluru’s Malleshwaram area, near the Indian Institute of Science (IISc), to address the discrepancy.

However, a representative from Rao’s office said they had not received a physical copy of the notice.

“We have not received any notice as of now,” the representative said, adding that the office had seen information suggesting the notice may have been uploaded on the Election Commission of India’s website.

According to the representative, there was no discrepancy apart from the additional letter in “Proff”.

CNR Rao Among Prominent Names Caught In SIR Exercise

The development comes amid an extensive revision of Karnataka’s electoral rolls, under which notices have been issued to voters whose records fall into categories such as “no mapping” and “anomalies”.

According to figures cited by the Chief Electoral Officer’s office last week, more than 43.81 lakh notices had been generated as part of the SIR exercise, while around 7.31 lakh had been delivered to electors.

As of September 4, Karnataka had 4,46,38,124 registered electors, including around 2.21 crore men, 2.24 crore women and 2,871 transgender voters.

Rao’s case follows a similar notice issued to Padma Shri awardee and social activist Harekala Hajabba over a name discrepancy. Karnataka’s Chief Electoral Officer later clarified that Hajabba’s notice was triggered by a mismatch in electoral records and said the matter had been resolved.

Scientist With Major Contributions To Chemistry

Born in Bengaluru in 1934, CNR Rao is internationally recognised for his work in chemistry, particularly in solid-state materials, nanomaterials and structural chemistry.

He founded the Solid State and Structural Chemistry Unit at IISc in 1976 and served as the institute’s director from 1984 to 1994. Rao has authored more than 1,600 research papers and has received numerous national and international honours.

He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, in recognition of his contributions to science.

SIR Notices Generated Across Karnataka

The electoral revision exercise has generated a large number of notices in Karnataka as authorities seek to reconcile voter records and identify discrepancies.

Officials have said the notices are being issued in cases where names cannot be mapped to existing records or where anomalies are detected.

Rao’s case, involving only an additional letter in his name, has drawn attention because of his prominence as one of India’s best-known scientists.