SIR: EC issues notice to Padma Shri awardee Harekala Hajabba

Harekala Hajabba | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENT Orange seller-turned-educationist and Padma Shri awardee Harekala Hajabba of Mangaluru is among the voters who have received notices from the Election Commission of India over a mismatch in their names between the existing electoral roll and the 2002 electoral roll.The 71-year-old Harekala Hajabba said his name in the 2002 electoral roll was mentioned as Hajabba. Subsequently, after he started receiving awards, his name was changed to Harekala Hajabba. His Aadhaar card, property records, ration card, Rajyotsava Prashasti and Padma Shri award documents mention his name as “Harekala Hajabba”.On Sunday, a Booth Level Officer, who is an anganwadi teacher, visited his house in Harekala village and served him the notice citing “self-name mismatch”. He was asked to visit the Gram Panchayat office on Friday between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. with the prescribed documents. “I did not know it was a notice related to the ongoing SIR. I realised this only after receiving calls from the media,” Mr. Hajabba told The Hindu over the phone.He said a senior government official visited his house on Monday and checked the documents he possessed. “The official took away the notice with him and assured me that my name would be retained in the final electoral roll,” Mr. Hajabba said.Mr. Hajabba came into the limelight for using his savings from selling oranges to get a government school built in his village Harekala, which is under Mangaluru Assembly constituency of Dakshina Kannada. This school now has a Pre-University College. He was conferred the Padma Shri in recognition of his benevolent work.He is among 45 voters in the draft roll for the polling booth at the Aided Shri Ramakrishna School, Harekala, who have been served notices over discrepancies in their details. Mr. Hajabba and 23 other voters have been served notices for “self name mismatch”. Notices have also been served for “parents’ age difference”, “grandparents’ age difference”, “unmapped with last SIR” and discrepancies in progeny details. Published - September 07, 2026 08:06 pm IST