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Hindustan Times
11 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
No law requires publishing names of 65 lakh omissions in Bihar draft rolls: ECI
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has told the Supreme Court that it is under no legal obligation to prepare or publish a separate list of nearly 65 lakh names not included in Bihar's draft electoral rolls, or to disclose reasons for their non-inclusion. Election Commission of India In its latest affidavit on the contentious special intensive revision (SIR) in Bihar ahead of assembly polls later this year, the Commission emphasised that the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, only require publication of the draft roll and provision for claims and objections, and not any parallel deletion list. ECI argued that non-inclusion in a draft roll is not the same as deletion from the electoral roll. The draft is a work-in-progress document, it said, and names may not appear for a variety of reasons, such as unreturned enumeration forms, or errors detected during house-to-house verification, but these names remain open to restoration through the claims process before final publication. 'The draft roll simply shows that the duly filled enumeration form of existing electors has been received during the enumeration phase,' stated the affidavit, adding individuals missing from the draft can file Form 6 along with the prescribed declaration to claim inclusion during the claims and objections period from August 1 to September 1, 2025. Contesting allegations by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) that the omissions amounted to mass deletions without transparency, the poll body also accused the NGO of making 'patently false and erroneous assertions' and attempting to mislead the court. The ECI's affidavit came in reply to allegations by ADR that 65 lakh names had been deleted from Bihar's draft electoral rolls without transparency and without disclosure of whether the deletions related to deceased persons, migrants or other categories. The petitioners alleged that political parties had not been given full access to the draft lists, and that in many cases booth level officers (BLOs) included or excluded names without proper verification of the 11 documents prescribed by ECI. On August 6, a bench led by Justice Surya Kant directed ECI to file a 'comprehensive reply' to the ADR's plea. The matter will be heard next on August 12. In its Saturday night filing, the Commission said ADR's demand for a public list of those not in the draft rolls, along with reasons for each omission, was legally unfounded. Rules 10 and 11 of the RER, it pointed out, only require that draft rolls be made available for public inspection in the relevant areas and supplied to recognised political parties. 'As neither the law nor guidelines provide for preparation or sharing of any such list of previous electors whose enumeration form is not received… no such list can be sought by the petitioner as a matter of right,' the affidavit said. ECI stressed that any individual omitted from the draft roll has a clear statutory route to inclusion, and that the reasons for non-inclusion, whether death, permanent migration or being untraceable, do not alter the remedy available. Providing reasons, therefore, 'serves no practical purpose' at the draft stage, it argued. Moreover, under Rule 19 of RER, the electoral registration officer (ERO) is bound to issue a hearing notice in each case where inclusion is objected to, at which stage reasons will be furnished. Rejecting ADR's claim that voters cannot verify their status without the reasons for exclusion, ECI said every elector with an EPIC card can check the status of their enumeration form online by entering their EPIC number. This facility also provides the contact details of the relevant booth level officer (BLO) for follow-up. The affidavit detailed steps taken before the draft rolls were published on August 1 to reach voters whose enumeration forms had not been received. Booth-level lists of such individuals were shared with recognised political parties through their district presidents and booth level agents (BLAs), meetings were held across all districts, and the lists were also acknowledged by parties, including the CPI(M-L). Further, on August 7, BLOs again convened polling station-level meetings to share these lists and seek assistance in contacting such voters. ECI said these measures were publicised in a July 27 press note, which was served on ADR during the previous hearing, making its claim of non-disclosure 'blatantly false'. The Commission also dismissed as 'misconceived' ADR's allegation that it had departed from past practice of publishing deleted names, clarifying that the example cited by the NGO was a final electoral roll from April 2024, not a draft. 'The final roll, which will be published after the present SIR exercise… will contain all such information,' it said. Addressing ADR's concern over a 'huge percentage of electors marked 'not recommended'' by BLOs, ECI said the recommendation mechanism was purely administrative, intended to minimise inadvertent errors, and carried no bearing on eligibility. Inputs from BLOs are 'suggestive rather than conclusive' and subject to verification by the ERO and Assistant ERO, it added. No deletion, ECI stressed, can occur without giving the voter a hearing and a reasoned order. Accusing ADR of a 'consistent attempt to malign the ECI by building false narratives on digital, print and social media', the affidavit urged the Supreme Court to impose 'heavy costs' and initiate contempt proceedings against the NGO for trying to mislead the court. Meanwhile, the controversy has drawn sharp political lines. On Friday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah accused the Opposition of opposing the revision because 'names of infiltrators' were being struck off. 'Infiltrators have no right to vote… The RJD and Congress are opposing SIR because these names are being deleted,' he told a rally in Sitamarhi. The Opposition INDIA bloc has alleged that the process is designed to disenfranchise marginalised communities ahead of the Bihar polls and could set a precedent for similar purges nationwide. As reported by HT on August 10, ECI, by a separate affidavit, had assured the Supreme Court that no eligible voter in Bihar would be struck off the rolls without prior notice, a hearing and a reasoned order. The poll body stressed that 'strict directions' had been issued to prevent wrongful deletions and highlighted a ten-point inclusion plan involving door-to-door verification, party agents, urban camps, migrant outreach, and special assistance to vulnerable voters.
Time of India
11 hours ago
- Time of India
Bihar SIR: No deletion of name from draft roll without notice, ECI tells SC; addresses doubts
File photo The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday told the Supreme Court that no voter's name will be deleted from the draft electoral roll in Bihar without prior notice, an opportunity to be heard, and a reasoned order. The poll panel also said the statutory framework does not require it to prepare or share a separate list of people not included in the draft rolls, or publish the reasons for non-inclusion of anyone. The EC filed an additional affidavit in the apex court on Saturday, days after releasing the draft electoral rolls for Bihar. The draft listed 7.24 crore voters but left out more than 65 lakh names, claiming most had either died or migrated. Separately, the EC filed its reply to a petitioner's application seeking directions to publish a full and final constituency and booth-wise list of around 65 lakh electors whose enumeration forms were not submitted, along with reasons for non-submission. A bench headed by Justice Surya Kant is hearing pleas against the EC's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. In its affidavit, the EC said the first stage of SIR was completed and the draft electoral roll was published on August 1. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Learn More - How Donating Sperm May Boost Your Income SpellRock Undo "It is further submitted that, as a matter of policy and in strict adherence to the principles of natural justice, no deletion of any elector's name from the draft electoral roll, published on August 1, 2025, shall be undertaken without: (i) issuance of a prior notice to the concerned elector indicating the proposed deletion and the grounds thereof, (ii) affording a reasonable opportunity of being heard and furnishing relevant documents, and (iii) passing of a reasoned and speaking order by the competent authority," it said. It said these safeguards are reinforced by a two-tier appeal mechanism under the rules to ensure every elector has adequate recourse against adverse action. The EC said it has issued strict directions to prevent any deletion without notice and a speaking order, with provision for appeals under section 24 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. In a separate reply, the poll panel said, "It is submitted that the statutory framework does not require the respondent (EC) to prepare or share any separate list of names of people not included in the draft electoral rolls, or publish the reasons for non-inclusion of anyone in the draft electoral rolls for any reason". "As neither the law nor guidelines provide for preparation or sharing of any such list of previous electors whose enumeration form is not received for any reason during the enumeration phase, no such list can be sought by the petition as a matter of right," it said. The EC said exclusion from the draft roll does not mean a person has been deleted from the electoral rolls. It said the draft simply showed that an enumeration form had been received during the enumeration phase. "But, on account of human involvement in execution of this exercise of scale, there is always a possibility that an exclusion or inclusion might surface due to inadvertence or error," it said. The commission said that before publishing the draft rolls, it directed the CEO and others to share with political parties the booth-level list of people whose enumeration forms were not received, and to seek their help in reaching out to them. It alleged that the petitioner's approach was in line with earlier attempts to malign the EC by spreading false narratives on digital, print and social media. "Such attempts should be appropriately dealt with by this court, and heavy costs should be imposed for petitioner's attempts to deliberately mislead this court," it said. The EC said that after the draft rolls were published, political parties were given an updated list of names not included in the draft rolls. "The political parties have acknowledged receipt of the said list," it said. The commission also told the court, "In yet another attempt to mislead this court, the petitioners emphatically assert that a person whose name has been excluded from the draft roll has no recourse to a remedy as he/she cannot file a claim or objection". Citing the SIR order of June 24, it said the guidelines allow inclusion of people whose enumeration forms were not submitted within the specified time. On August 6, the Supreme Court had asked the EC to provide by August 9 the details of around 65 lakh electors left out of the draft rolls. The NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, which has challenged the EC's June 24 SIR order, has filed a fresh application seeking publication of the names of the 65 lakh excluded voters along with reasons such as death, migration, or other grounds.
New Indian Express
12 hours ago
- New Indian Express
Bihar SIR row: 'Not bound by rules' to disclose voters excluded from draft roll, ECI tells SC
NEW DELHI: Opposing the application filed by ADR seeking the publication of a list of persons not included in the draft roll, the Election Commission of India (ECI) -- by filing an affidavit -- told the Supreme Court that it was not bound by the Rules to publish a separate list of persons not included in the draft electoral roll. The apex court's two-judge bench, headed by Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymala Bagchi, is scheduled to hear on August 12, Tuesday, a batch of pleas challenging the constitutional validity of Bihar SIR. This was the third affidavit filed by the Commission in response to a notice to the Supreme Court on an application filed by NGO, Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), claiming 65 lakh voters in Bihar during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls have been left without disclosing reasons. "It is not required under the Rules to furnish the reasons for the non-inclusion of persons in the draft Roll. It has shared the draft roll with the political parties," the ECI in its fresh affidavit told the apex court. The persons not included in the draft have the option of submitting a declaration for inclusion. Pleading to the SC for dismissing the batch of pleas in Bihar SIR issue, the ECI clarified that such electors would be afforded a reasonable opportunity of being heard and furnishing of relevant documents. "As a matter of policy and in strict adherence to the principles of natural justice, no deletion of any elector's name from the draft electoral roll of Bihar published on August 1, 2025, as part of the Special Intensive Revision, would be undertaken without issuance of a prior notice and passing of a reasoned and speaking order by the competent authorit," the ECI told the apex court. Dismissing the allegations, the EC, in an additional affidavit filed on Saturday, said, the safeguards against deletion have been reinforced by a robust two-tier appeal mechanism prescribed under the relevant rules, thereby ensuring that every elector has adequate recourse against any adverse action. "The petitioners in the Bihar SIR case are attempting to mislead the court. The petitioners have come to court with unclean hands and deserve heavy costs to be imposed upon them," the ECI said.
