On September 9, renowned journalist known for his anti-BJP stances, Rajdeep Sardesai made a bizarre allegation against the electoral body in a post on X. He claimed that, Bharat Ratna awardee and scientist Prof C.N.R. Rao was served with a notice. This notice he claimed was served during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise for the updation of the electoral rolls. It was further claimed that the body has sent notice over mismatch of the name.
Sardesai posted on X, “INTERESTING: SIR row: now Bharat Ratna and one of India’s leading scientists, Prof CNR Rao served notice for name mismatch! Apparently additional ‘F’ in his ‘Prof’ in the 2002 electoral roll! Prof Rao office says it is yet to receive notice. Can common sense be used occasionally”
INTERESTING: SIR row: now Bharat Ratna and one of India’s leading scientists, Prof CNR Rao served notice for name mismatch! Apparently additional ‘F’ in his ‘Prof’ in the 2002 electoral roll! Prof Rao office says it is yet to receive notice. Can common sense be used occasionally…
— Rajdeep Sardesai (@sardesairajdeep) September 9, 2026
Within hours the post started getting a lot of traction.
However, this claim later turned out to a fake information which had no proof whatsoever and no notice was served to Rao or his family members regarding SIR.
What the Election Commission say?
According to the clarification issued by the Additional District Election Officer, BBMP North, Prof C.N.R. Rao is a voter from Part No. 59 in the 157-Malleswaram Assembly Constituency.
The current draft voter list records his name as “Proff C.N.R. Rao S/O Nagesh Rav. H”, while the 2002 voter list records the name as “Rama S/O H. Nagesh.”
Clarification Press Note issued by the ADEO, BBMP North dated 09.09.2026.@SIR2026@ECISVEEP @SpokespersonECI pic.twitter.com/gXC0qhkSja
— Chief Electoral Officer, Karnataka (@ceo_karnataka) September 9, 2026
The name difference was noticed during the SIR process. But the officials clarified that this did not lead to a notice being issued to Rao.
The form was handed over to Rao at his residence by election officials, including the State SVEEP Nodal Officer, Commissioner of Bengaluru West City Corporation, the Electoral Registration Officer of Malleswaram and the Booth Level Officer of Part No. 59.
The Booth Level Officer then recommended the record for final approval without serving any notice to Rao or his family, informed the officials on X on September 9.
Voter record approved for final roll
The clarification further states that on September 8, 2026, the Additional Electoral Registration Officer approved the record for addition to the final electoral roll.
The election authorities also specifically rejected the report that Rao had been served a notice over the name mismatch, calling it “factually incorrect.”
The clarification ends by again stating that no notice was served to Prof C.N.R. Rao or his family members.
Fact Check: The claim that Prof C.N.R. Rao was served a notice over a name mismatch during the SIR process is false/incorrect, according to the election authorities.
