EC's citizenship verification in Bihar defies SC verdicts, a fraud on voters: ADR tells Court
In its rejoinder affidavit, ADR responded to the EC's counter filed on July 21, in which the poll body defended the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
The EC had claimed the exercise aimed to restore public confidence in the electoral process.
A batch of petitions challenging the Bihar SIR is scheduled to be heard by the top court on Monday, July 28, ahead of the State Assembly elections in November.
ADR, in its response, questioned the EC's refusal to accept Aadhaar, Voter ID (EPIC), and ration cards as standalone proof of identity for inclusion in the electoral roll. It termed the stance 'patently absurd.'
On July 10, a two-judge bench of the Supreme Court, comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi, declined to stay the revision process but directed the Commission to consider Aadhaar, EPIC, and ration card documents for verification.
The Court noted that these documents serve as foundational proof for obtaining any of the 11 documents listed by the EC for voter verification.
The EC, however, contended that Aadhaar, EPIC, and ration cards were susceptible to forgery. Disputing this claim, ADR argued that the remaining 11 documents permitted by the EC were equally vulnerable to fraudulent procurement, thereby rendering the EC's rationale arbitrary and inconsistent.
"The situation raises serious concerns regarding transparency, accountability, and the potential for electoral fraud. Voters have expressed confusion and concern over the uploading of their details without their knowledge or involvement,' ADR said in its rejoinder, a copy of which was accessed by The New Indian Express.
ADR also alleged that the ground realities in Bihar contradicted the EC's claims about the integrity of the process. "The reports from various towns and villages indicate that the SIR process is being carried out in a manner that is arbitrary, illegal, and in violation of the Commission's own guidelines dated June 24," it said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Economic Times
18 minutes ago
- Economic Times
Justice not done, will move higher courts, say kin of Malegaon blast victims
The verdict of the trial court in the 2008 Malegaon blast was "wrong" and he will move even the Supreme Court to get justice if necessary, said the father of Farheen (10), the youngest victim of the tragedy, on Thursday. 67-year-old Liyaqat Shaikh was speaking to media persons in Malegaon after the special NIA court in Mumbai acquitted all seven accused in the case including former BJP MP Pragya Singh Thakur and Lt Col Prasad Purohit. Six persons including his daughter Farheen were killed and 101 injured in the blast in the north Maharashtra town on September 29, the incident, Shaikh, a driver by profession, said Farheen had left house to buy 'vada-pav' (a snack) at Bhikku Chowk on that day."I heard the sound of a blast. We lived near the blast site, in a tin-roof house. I got out of the house to look for my daughter but could not find her. It was dark outside. Somebody said there was a girl among the injured, so my wife and I went to the hospital where we found her in a bad situation," he said. Then Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) chief Hemant Karkare had arrested the accused persons with enough evidence, he said."The verdict of the court is wrong. We will go to the Supreme Court to seek justice," Shaikh Ahmed, whose son Sayyed Azhar was one of those who died in the blast, said they did not get justice and will approach higher courts. Victims of any blast, whichever religion they may belong to, should get justice, he Khan, whose nephew Irfan Khan died in the blast, said Irfan drove an auto rickshaw and had gone out to have tea at Bhikku Chowk when the blast ripped through the place. He was shifted to Mumbai in a badly injured condition and died at the government hospital after 10 hours of treatment, Khan was not happy with the verdict, he said. "First some Muslims were arrested in the case, and they got a clean chit later. Now these people too were not convicted, so who was the culprit?" he asked.
Scroll.in
18 minutes ago
- Scroll.in
Rush Hour: Pragya Thakur acquitted in Malegaon blast, Trump says Indian economy is dead & more
We're building a brand-new studio to bring you bold ground reports, sharp interviews, hard-hitting podcasts, explainers and more. Support Scroll's studio fund today. A court in Mumbai has acquitted Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pragya Singh Thakur, Lieutenant Colonel Prasad Purohit and five others in the 2008 Malegaon blast case. The court held that the prosecution had failed to establish their guilt beyond reasonable doubt. Six persons were killed and around 100 were injured when an explosive device strapped to a motorcycle went off near a mosque in Malegaon in northern Maharashtra on September 29, 2008. The court said there was no evidence that Pragya Thakur owned or was in possession of the vehicle. The court directed the Maharashtra government to pay Rs 2 lakh as compensation to the families of those who died in the blast and Rs 50,000 to those who were injured. Read on. United States President Donald Trump has said that he does not care about 'what India does with Russia' and that 'they can take their dead economies down together, for all I care'. The comments came a day after he said that India will have to pay a 'penalty' for buying military equipment and oil from Russia amid the war on Ukraine. 'We have done very little business with India, their tariffs are too high, among the highest in the world,' Trump said on Thursday. 'Likewise, Russia and the USA do almost no business together.' The US president also said that Russia's former president Dmitry Medvedev should 'watch his words'. While it was not clear what comment by Medvedev Trump was referring to, it came a day after the Russian politician said that the US president's approach could lead to a war. Read on. Trump has also announced that the US would help develop Pakistan's 'massive oil reserves'. 'Who knows, maybe they'll be selling oil to India some day!' the US president said on social media. This came a day after he announced that Washington will levy a 25% tariff on goods imported from India from August 1. Later in the day, however, Trump said that his administration is still negotiating final tariff rates with New Delhi. 'We are talking to India now, we will see what happens,' he said. 'You will know by the end of this week.' Read on. The Election Commission has said that there is no category of 'suspicious voters' under the 1951 Representation of the People Act. The clarification comes even as the poll body is reviewing voter rolls in Bihar, with one of the reasons it had cited being the alleged inclusion of foreign illegal immigrants over time. In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Union minister Arjun Ram Meghwal also said that the process of linking Aadhaar cards with the Election Photo Identity Cards is yet to begin. In March, the Election Commission announced plans to start the process. The decision had come after the Trinamool Congress and the Congress alleged that at least 129 voters in Haryana and West Bengal had the same EPIC number, which, according to the commission, is supposed to be unique for every voter. Read on.
The Hindu
18 minutes ago
- The Hindu
Upa Lokayukta holds grievance redressal meeting in Mysuru
Upa Lokayukta K.N. Phaneendra interacted with officials and received complaints from the public in a bid to resolve their grievances, here on Thursday. The meeting was convened at the Mysuru ZP office to address public grievances and resolve cases, in the presence of district-level officers, complainants, and respondents. In one complaint, a petitioner stated that they had purchased four acres of land, but only 3.5 acres were officially registered in their name. Responding to this, a survey department official clarified that 20 guntas of the land fall under the road area, leaving only 3.5 acres available for registration. Mr. Phaneendra responded that if the complainants are not satisfied with the explanation, they may appeal to the Joint Director of Land Records, and if still dissatisfied, they can approach the court. In another complaint, it was alleged that although a temporary ration card had been issued earlier to the complainant, a new card had not yet been provided. The respondent, a food inspector, stated that ration card applications must be submitted online along with Aadhaar details. Since the applicant had not applied online, the new ration card could not be issued, he added. However, it was clarified that once the application is submitted, the new card would be issued. The Upa Lokayukta directed the officials concerned to ensure that the card is issued within one month. During the meeting, it transpired that in Hunsur taluk, government land had been cleared twice, but a private individual had re-encroached upon it. The Upa Lokayukta directed the Superintendent of Police to take strict action against the encroachment. Earlier, Mr. Phaneendra, who addressed the gathering, spoke on the imperatives of eradicating corruption. He pointed out that as long as there were people willing to pay bribes, there will be people ready to accept it, and hence public cooperation was essential in building a corruption-free society. He also stated that every individual had the right to lead a healthy life and it was the government's duty to provide the necessary facilities to make this possible. The Upa Lokayukta spoke on the evil practice of foeticide and described it as a punishable offence. V.N. Vimala, Joint Registrar (Investigations), Lokayukta; Kiran Patil, Lokayukta Secretary; K.K. Amarnath, member secretary, Mysuru District Legal Services Authority; G. Lakshmikanth Reddy, Deputy Commissioner; Seema Latkar, Police Commissioner; Vishnuvardhan, District Superintendent of Police; T.J. Udesh, Superintendent of Police, Mysuru Lokayukta; and others were present.
