Hyderabad: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has clarified that newly issued Family Register Certificates cannot be used for voter registration or verification under the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Telangana.
The clarification follows GO No. 172, issued by the Telangana government on July 25, 2026, under which Family Register Certificates are being issued online through MeeSeva.
In a communication to the Telangana Chief Electoral Officer, Election Commission Secretary Naveen Kumar said certificates issued under the new system would not be accepted as valid documents for SIR verification.
The ECI noted that under the earlier procedure, Family Member Certificates were issued by Tahsildars after field-level inquiries and verification of supporting documents. Under the new system, however, certificates are reportedly generated online within two days, primarily on the basis of ration-card data.
The Commission observed that such certificates are effectively equivalent to ration cards. Referring to previous Supreme Court judgments, it noted that a ration card is not conclusive proof of citizenship and therefore cannot be treated as an authoritative document for electoral-roll verification.
However, the ECI clarified that Family Member Certificates issued before July 25, 2026, under the earlier procedure and following field-level verification by Tahsildars, will continue to be accepted during the SIR process.
The clarification comes as Telangana continues its intensive exercise to verify and update electoral-roll entries across the state.