The paper is read against the roll • One roll, not two • Settled before the election is called

Panchayat Nomination Name Mismatch in Uttarakhand: Panchayat and Municipal Elections

For people in Uttarakhand who mean to contest a gram panchayat, kshetra panchayat, zila panchayat or municipal ward election, and whose name in the electoral roll, on the nomination paper, the affidavit or the caste certificate does not agree: what is read at scrutiny, what to correct and when, and why a name in two rolls is the gravest problem of all.

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Written by the Documentation Desk Team, UttarakhandNameChange.com • Reviewed by Advocate Vipin Chauhan • Updated October 2026

Quick answer

A panchayat nomination name mismatch is prevented, not cured at the desk. Correct your entry in the panchayat or ward electoral roll in its revision period, see that you are on one roll only, and fill the nomination paper exactly as the roll prints you. Bring the affidavit and caste certificate to the same name. A spelling needs no Gazette.

A would-be candidate in Uttarakhand checking a name in the panchayat electoral roll against a nomination paper and voter card — A panchayat nomination is read against the electoral roll, so correct the roll in its revision, stay on one roll only, and fill the paper exactly as the roll prints you.

Every few years thousands of people in Uttarakhand file papers to stand for village, block, district and town councils. At scrutiny, a returning officer reads each paper against the electoral roll. A panchayat nomination name mismatch is a difference found there, between the name a candidate writes and the name the roll prints. This page explains panchayat nomination name mismatch, and how to avoid it.

We do not file nominations, and this subject needs no Gazette in the ordinary case. The rulings on names in two rolls are from court reports of 2025. The rule on clerical errors is from the 1951 Act, which governs other elections and is given only for comparison. For the roll itself, read panchayat and municipal voter list name correction.

The basics

What Are These Elections, in Brief?

Who conducts them. The State Election Commission, Uttarakhand.
The three tiers. The gram panchayat, with its pradhan and members, the kshetra panchayat of the block, and the zila panchayat of the district.
In towns. Municipal corporations, councils and nagar panchayats, with a member for each ward.
The roll. A separate electoral roll for each panchayat and ward. The commission is responsible for preparing these rolls, as well as for conducting the elections.
The papers. A nomination paper, with the papers the commission asks for that election, filed with the returning officer.

These are not the Lok Sabha or assembly elections. Those are run by the Election Commission of India on its own roll. A voter card is common to both, but the panchayat roll is the one a panchayat nomination is read against.

The background

What Do the Courts and the Law Say?

The first four rows are from court and newspaper reports of 2025. The last two are from the Representation of the People Act, 1951, which governs Lok Sabha and assembly elections and is given here only for comparison.

What courts, reports and the 1951 Act say about candidates' names and electoral rolls
Point	What is said
One roll	The High Court read sections 9(6) and 9(7) of the Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act, 2016 as barring a voter's registration in more than one territorial constituency or roll
The 2025 clarification	The commission had said a nomination would not be rejected only because the candidate's name was in more than one roll. The High Court stayed that in July 2025
The appeal	The Supreme Court dismissed the commission's appeal in September 2025, with costs
The scale	A newspaper reported 3,382 nominations cancelled at scrutiny in the July 2025 panchayat elections, for all reasons
For comparison: the roll check	Under section 33(4) of the 1951 Act, the returning officer satisfies himself that the names and roll numbers on the paper are the same as in the roll, and overlooks a clerical error where the name is commonly understood
For comparison: rejection	Under section 36(4) of the same Act, a paper is not rejected for a defect that is not of a substantial character

We did not read the state's own rules for panchayat and municipal scrutiny. Whatever they say, a paper that matches the roll gives a returning officer nothing to decide.

What is compared

Where Is the Candidate's Name Written?

Papers in a panchayat or municipal nomination, whose name each carries and where each is corrected
Paper	Whose name	Where it is corrected
The panchayat or ward electoral roll	The candidate's, and the proposer's	The electoral registration officer, in a revision
The nomination paper	The candidate's and the proposer's, with roll numbers	Written by the candidate. Filled from the roll
The affidavit	The candidate's	Sworn by the candidate
The caste certificate, for a reserved seat	The candidate's	The tehsil
The voter card and Aadhaar	The candidate's	Their own offices
The family register, in a village	The candidate's household	The village office

The first two rows are the ones read against each other at scrutiny. Every other paper should agree with them, and the roll is the one that is hardest to change late.

Sort it first

What Kinds of Mismatch Are There?

The roll spells you differently

A home name, a missing surname, a letter out
Typed in a roll revision, years ago
Corrected in the next revision, on identity papers

Your name is in two rolls

A village roll and a town roll, or two villages
Often after a move or a marriage
One entry removed, before the election

Your other papers disagree

A caste certificate or affidavit in another form of the name
Or a proposer whose roll entry differs
Each brought to the roll's name

The second is the one the courts took up in 2025. It is not a matter of spelling at all. It is a question of whether the person may contest.

Find your row

Which Case Is Yours?

Cases of a name mismatch in a panchayat or municipal nomination and the route for each
The situation	Route	Gazette?
The roll has a spelling slip	Correct the roll in its revision	No
The roll has a home name	The same, on identity papers	No
Your name is in two rolls	Have one entry removed, before the election	No
The voter card differs from the roll	Correct the voter card, and fill the paper from the roll	No
The caste certificate differs, for a reserved seat	A corrected certificate from the tehsil	No
The proposer's entry differs	He corrects it, or another proposer	No
A married woman's roll entry is in her maiden name	File in the roll's name. Correct the roll later	No
The candidate changed a name by choice	Gazette, then Aadhaar, the voter card and the roll, in time	Yes

A Gazette appears once in eight rows, and only months ahead of an election. The roll and the tehsil settle the rest.

Step by step

How Do You Put It Right?

This is the general method. Start a year before the election, not a week.

Step 1: Look up your entry in the electoral roll of your panchayat or ward

Well before the election is notified. Note the part, the serial number and the name exactly as printed.

Step 2: Put it beside your Aadhaar and your voter card

And beside the caste certificate, if the seat is reserved.

Step 3: Check that you are on one roll only

A name in two rolls, a village and a town, is the gravest problem of all.

Step 4: Correct the roll in the revision period, not at the nomination desk

A roll is corrected by the electoral registration officer, on a claim made in time.

Step 5: Ask your proposer to check his own entry too

His name and serial number go on your paper, and are read against the roll.

Step 6: Fill the nomination paper from the roll, letter by letter

The name, the serial number and the part number, exactly as the roll prints them.

Step 7: Make every other paper agree with it

The affidavit, the caste certificate and the deposit receipt.

Step 8: Attend the scrutiny, with originals

If a question is raised about a name, answer it there, with your identity papers.

The root paper

Why Does the Roll Come First?

A nomination is read against the roll. The roll is not read against the nomination.
A roll is revised on a timetable, and is settled before an election is called.
Once the election is notified, there is little time and little room to correct it.
So the work is done in the revision before, by a claim to the electoral registration officer.
The panchayat roll is separate from the assembly roll. A correction in one does not always reach the other.
Check the roll for the panchayat or ward you will contest, by part and serial number.

Read panchayat and municipal voter list name correction and voter list revision name mismatch.

The gravest case

What If Your Name Is in Two Rolls?

People move from a village to a town for work, and are entered in the town's roll without leaving the village's.
Women are entered in a husband's village and stay in their parents' village roll as well.
The High Court read the Panchayati Raj Act, 2016 as barring registration in more than one roll.
In July 2025 it stayed the commission's clarification that such nominations would not be rejected. The Supreme Court dismissed the commission's appeal in September 2025.
So a would-be candidate with two entries should have one removed, by the officer of that roll, well before the election.
Keep the acknowledgment of the removal, and a printout of the roll that shows you once.

This is a matter of eligibility, and a lawyer's question where an election has already been held. Read same name as another person, where a second entry is someone else's.

For reserved seats

What About a Reserved Seat and the Caste Certificate?

A seat reserved for a scheduled caste, a scheduled tribe, a backward class or women is open only to those it is reserved for.
For a caste reservation, the candidate shows a caste certificate.
That certificate was issued by the tehsil, often years before, in whatever form of the name was given then.
Read it against the roll. A father's name differing between the two raises a question too.
Have a certificate reissued in the roll's name before the election, on Aadhaar and the family register.
The commission's list of papers for each election says what is to be filed. Read it when the election is notified.

Read name change in caste certificate, name change in OBC certificate and name correction in the family register.

The day it is read

What Happens at Scrutiny?

After the last date for nominations, the returning officer examines each paper on a fixed day.
Candidates and others may be present, and may raise objections to a paper.
A name that differs from the roll is one of the things he checks, with the roll numbers.
Be present, with your original identity papers, a printout of your roll entry and a copy of every paper filed.
Answer a question about a name there and then. Afterwards it is too late.
In the 1951 Act, which governs other elections, a clerical slip in a name is overlooked where the name is commonly understood. Do not count on the same grace.

The affidavit filed with a nomination should carry the name as in the roll. Read name change affidavit, on what an affidavit is and is not, and name change with a pending court case.

A common case

What About Women Who Married Into Another Village?

Many seats are reserved for women, and many women candidates are daughters-in-law of the village.
Her roll entry in the husband's village may be in her married name, and her Aadhaar in her maiden name, or the reverse.
Her entry in her parents' village may never have been removed.
Check both villages' rolls, and have the old entry removed.
File the nomination in the name the roll prints, and make the other papers agree with it.
Her husband's or father's name, as the roll gives it, should match too.

Read name change after marriage and Aadhaar care of father or husband.

Central route

Where Does a Gazette Come In?

Only where a candidate has changed a name by choice, and wants the roll to carry the new one. It has no part in a spelling or a second entry, and it has to be done months before an election.

Step 1: Confirm that it is a change of name, and not a spelling in the roll

A spelling is corrected in the roll, on identity papers.

Step 2: Remember the calendar

A Gazette takes weeks. A roll closes for an election long before nominations.

Step 3: Fix the exact new name

The spelling that will go on Aadhaar, the voter card and the roll.

Step 4: Make the affidavit and publish the newspaper notice

Sign before a notary. Publish in a daily local leading newspaper, and keep the original newspaper.

Step 5: Type the form and sign the undertaking

Two typed copies of the specimen, signed in your old name with two witnesses, and the undertaking.

Step 6: Prepare the CD, photographs and certificate

The same text on a CD in MS Word, two self-attested photographs with identity proof, and a certificate that both copies match.

Step 7: Pay the charge on BharatKosh

Commonly Rs 1,100 for an adult. It is not refunded.

Step 8: Send the file yourself, then update Aadhaar, the voter card and the roll

Send it to the Controller of Publications, Department of Publication, Civil Lines, Delhi 110054. Then claim the correction in the roll at its next revision.

See gazette name change in Uttarakhand.

Which one

Which Gazette Should You Use?

The election is the state's, but the papers read with the roll are central. The Gazette of India serves both.

Step 1: Remember whose election this is

The State Election Commission's, under state law.

Step 2: Remember the papers it reads

The roll, and identity papers such as Aadhaar and the voter card, which are central.

Step 3: Prefer the Gazette of India

It serves Aadhaar and the voter card as well as the state's offices.

Step 4: Contact the Roorkee press only if a state notice suits you

Take the contact from govtpress.uk.gov.in and ask if a private change of name notice is being accepted.

Step 5: Download the notice

Search gazettes.uk.gov.in and save the PDF.

For the difference between the two, read Uttarakhand Gazette vs Gazette of India.

Avoid this

Which Mistakes Do Candidates Make?

Common mistakes with names in a panchayat or municipal nomination
Mistake	What to do
Checking the roll after the election is called	Check it in the revision before
Filling the paper from the voter card	Fill it from the roll
Staying on two rolls	Have one entry removed, in time
A caste certificate in another spelling	Have it reissued before filing
Not checking the proposer's entry	Check it as carefully as your own
An affidavit in a fuller name than the roll	The roll's name throughout
Missing the scrutiny	Attend, with originals
Assuming the assembly roll is the panchayat roll	Check the panchayat or ward roll
Starting a Gazette a month before the election	Correct the roll instead

A typical case we handle: a man in Tehri meant to stand for gram pradhan. Months before, he looked up the village roll and found himself entered as "Rajju", with his father's name cut short. His voter card and Aadhaar read "Rajendra Singh Negi". A relative told him he would need a Gazette before he could file. He did not. He made a claim in the roll's revision on his Aadhaar and voter card, and the entry was corrected before the election was notified. He filled his paper from the corrected roll. This is an illustrative example of the type of case we handle, not a named client review.

What is a lawyer's job, not ours

An objection at scrutiny, a rejected nomination, and an election petition.

When you do not need us

For a spelling or a home name in the roll, a second entry, a caste certificate and a proposer's entry. The electoral registration officer and the tehsil settle those. We are useful only where a candidate has changed a name by choice and a Gazette notification is asked for.

Coverage

Which Areas of Uttarakhand Do We Cover?

All 13 districts: Dehradun, Haridwar, Pauri Garhwal, Tehri Garhwal, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Uttarkashi, Nainital, Udham Singh Nagar, Almora, Bageshwar, Champawat and Pithoragarh. Haridwar's panchayats follow their own cycle. A roll is corrected by the officer for your own panchayat or ward. Send photos of your roll entry and identity papers on WhatsApp, and we will tell you which to correct.

Pauri Tehri Chamoli Rudraprayag Uttarkashi Almora Bageshwar Pithoragarh Champawat Nainital Udham Singh Nagar Dehradun

Panchayat Nomination Name Mismatch: Frequently Asked Questions

What is a panchayat nomination name mismatch?+

A difference between a candidate's name on the nomination paper and the name in the electoral roll, or on the affidavit, caste certificate or other papers filed with it, which can be raised at scrutiny.

Who conducts panchayat and municipal elections in Uttarakhand?+

The State Election Commission, Uttarakhand. Lok Sabha and assembly elections are a separate matter, under the Election Commission of India.

Is the panchayat roll the same as the assembly roll?+

It is a separate roll for the panchayat or ward, prepared for these elections. A correction in one is not always carried to the other. Check the one you will contest from.

Can a nomination be rejected for a spelling?+

We did not read the state's own rules on scrutiny. For Lok Sabha and assembly elections, the 1951 Act tells the returning officer to overlook a clerical error in a name where the person is commonly understood, and not to reject a paper for a defect that is not substantial. Do not rely on that. Make the paper match the roll.

What if my name is in two electoral rolls?+

Correct it before the election. In July 2025 the High Court stayed the State Election Commission's clarification that such nominations would not be rejected, finding it prima facie against the Panchayati Raj Act, 2016. The Supreme Court dismissed the commission's appeal in September 2025.

Do I need a Gazette or an affidavit?+

Not a Gazette, for a spelling or a home name in the roll. The roll is corrected on identity papers. The affidavit filed with a nomination is a separate paper, and should carry the name as in the roll.

Can I correct the roll during the nomination period?+

Generally a roll is settled before an election is notified. Ask the electoral registration officer. Plan to correct it well before.

My caste certificate has a different spelling from the roll. Does it matter for a reserved seat?+

It can. The certificate is how you show you may contest that seat. Have it reissued in the roll's name, or the roll corrected, before you file.

My proposer's name in the roll is spelt differently. Is that my problem?+

It is, since his entry is on your paper. Ask him to check and correct it in time, or choose a proposer whose entry is clean.

I married into another village. Where can I contest?+

Where your name is on the roll. A woman whose name was moved to her husband's village must check it was removed from her parents' village.

How will my name appear on the ballot paper?+

We could not confirm the commission's practice. It is drawn from the nomination as accepted. Read it when the list of candidates is published.

Many nominations were rejected in 2025. Were they all over names?+

No. A newspaper reported 3,382 nominations cancelled across the state at scrutiny in July 2025, for all reasons. We have no breakdown.

Can a rejected candidate challenge it?+

By an election petition, in the way the state law provides. That is a lawyer's matter.

Does this apply to municipal ward elections too?+

The same care applies. The electoral roll of the ward is read against the nomination paper.

Is Haridwar on the same cycle?+

No. In 2025 the commission notified panchayat elections in 12 districts, leaving out Haridwar, which follows its own cycle.

Do you file nominations?+

No. We prepare a Gazette where a person's own change of name needs one.

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Written and reviewed by

Who Wrote and Reviewed This Page?

This page is written by the Documentation Desk Team of UttarakhandNameChange.com, the team that prepares Gazette files for people across Uttarakhand.

It is reviewed by Advocate Vipin Chauhan.

That the High Court read sections 9(6) and 9(7) of the Uttarakhand Panchayati Raj Act, 2016 as barring registration in more than one roll, that it stayed the State Election Commission's clarification in July 2025, and that the Supreme Court dismissed the commission's appeal in September 2025, are from law reports of those orders. The number of nominations cancelled in July 2025 is from a newspaper report. That the 2025 panchayat elections covered 12 districts and not Haridwar is from a news report of the notification. Sections 33(4) and 36(4) of the Representation of the People Act, 1951 are cited for comparison only. We did not read the state's rules for panchayat or municipal nominations and scrutiny, or the commission's list of papers. How rolls come to carry two entries, and what to bring to scrutiny, are general guidance, and not a substitute for a lawyer's advice. The State Election Commission and the returning officer are the authority.

Last reviewed October 2026 • UttarakhandNameChange.com is a private documentation consultancy and is not a Government body or a law firm. This page is general information, not legal advice.

Verify it yourself

Official Sources

State Election Commission, UttarakhandNotifications, schedules and papers for panchayat and municipal elections.
India CodeThe Representation of the People Act, 1951, and state Acts.
Voters' Service PortalThe voter card and the assembly roll.
Unique Identification Authority of IndiaAadhaar, the identity paper most often read with the roll.
Department of Publication: Change of Name and Public NoticesThe change of name guideline, for a real change of name.

Quick summary

Names in a Nomination: The Short Version

A nomination paper is read against the panchayat or ward roll. Look up your entry well before the election, correct it in the revision, and see that you are on one roll only, since the courts in 2025 would not let the commission wave through names in two rolls. Fill the paper from the roll, letter by letter. Make the affidavit and any caste certificate agree. Check your proposer's entry. Attend the scrutiny with originals.

No Gazette is needed for a spelling. To find out which paper to correct, send photos on WhatsApp 9540005064, and we will reply in working hours.

The Paper Is Read Against the Roll. Correct the Roll a Year Ahead.

Send your roll entry and identity papers on WhatsApp. We tell you, free, which one to correct.