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Business Standard
5 days ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
SC orders EC to publish names and reasons for deletion of 65 lakh voters in Bihar's SIR by Aug 19, with booth-wise online access and publicity across multiple platforms
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish on its website before August 19 the names of those who have been excluded from the draft electoral roll after the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar. The reasons for the omission of approximately 6.5 million voters must be given, and their names should be searchable online based on EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) numbers, the top court said. Soft copies of the deleted voters list must be available on the respective district electoral officer websites, the court added. "The list of 6.5 million voters, whose names appeared in the 2025 list but are not included in the draft list, shall be displayed on the websites of district electoral officers. The information would be booth-wise but it can be accessed by referring to EPIC number. The lists shall be published on the website of the Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar," the court directed. The apex court also told the ECI to accept Aadhaar card as a document for establishing identity. "Your list of 11 documents seems citizen-friendly, but Aadhaar and EPIC are readily available... your notice can say that those who have not submitted so far, can submit their Aadhaar and EPIC also," said Justice Joymalya Bagchi of the top court Bench that is hearing the matter. The Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Bagchi is hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the ECI's June 24 directive, ordering SIR of Bihar electoral roll. The directive requires voters not listed in the 2003 electoral roll to submit documents proving their citizenship. Those born after December 2004 must also furnish citizenship documents of both parents, with additional requirements if a parent is a foreign national. Apart from the directions above, the bench also ordered the ECI to publicise the deleted voters list through newspapers, electronic media, and social media. Printed booth-wise lists of deleted voters along with reasons for their deletion must also be displayed at panchayat and block development offices, the court directed. 'For a migrant worker who has been deleted as dead, even if he is illiterate, his neighbours or friends would alert him… it is only fair to have a procedure that does not block a person from exercising his right to adult franchise. There are civil consequences involved here,' Justice Kant told Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, who is appearing for the ECI. The apex court said that voters have a right to know, and a high degree of transparency is required to inspire their confidence. 'People have a right to know. A high degree of transparency is required to inspire voters' confidence. Put up the names of excluded electors with reasons out there in the public domain for all to see,' Justice Bagchi told the ECI. The top court had earlier said that if there was 'mass exclusion' of voters in the SIR exercise in Bihar, it will 'step in'. The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), activist Yogendra Yadav, Lok Sabha Member of Parliament (MP) from Trinamool Congress Mahua Moitra, Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha, Congress leader K C Venugopal, and former member of Bihar Assembly Mujahid Alam are the petitioners in the case.
NDTV
5 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Supreme Court's Aadhaar Option For Those Struck Off Bihar's Voter List
New Delhi: In a significant development in the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) case, the Supreme Court today said that those whose names have been struck off the state's voter lists can submit their Aadhaar cards to challenge this deletion. Earlier, the Election Commission had resisted accepting Aadhaar, arguing that while it may be a proof of identity, it is not a valid proof of citizenship. It is unclear if Aadhaar will be an eligible document for Special Intensive Revision exercises of voter lists in other states. For now, it is an option for those whose names were struck off the list in poll-bound Bihar. In its interim order, the bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked the poll body to make public the list of 65 lakh names struck off the voter list after SIR, along with the reason for deletion. These lists, the court said, must be publicised through ads so that people can approach the poll body for corrections. "Aggrieved persons may submit their claims along with a copy of their Aadhaar cards," Justice Kant said while reading out the order. Aadhaar was not on the list of 11 documents the election body had okayed for the voter list review exercise. The petitioners had argued this would put lakhs of people, especially from the underprivileged sections, at a disadvantage. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the Association for Democratic Reforms, told the media, "The court has directed the Election Commission to advertise that they are going to accept the Aadhaar card in addition to the 11 documents they have specified." Earlier, Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Singhvi had flagged the exclusion of Aadhaar from eligible documents. The court had then pointed to Section 9 of the Aadhaar Act that clarifies that it is not proof of citizenship. During today's hearing, Justice Bagchi said Aadhaar is a statutorily recognised document for identity and residence. When Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan said the poll body is accepting Aadhaar, Justice Bagchi said, "No, no they have to." Justice Kant added, "It is a statutory obligation. It has to be there." In its interim order, the bench said, "We have briefly heard the Election Commission of India. During the course of hearing , the following steps are agreed: ECI will, as interim measure, take following steps: list of 65 lakhs voters whose names appeared in 2025 list but are not included in the draft list shall be displayed on the district level websites." This list, the order said, must mention the reason for deletion from the draft roll. "Wide publicity shall be given in vernacular language newspapers which has maximum circulation and it must be broadcast and telecast on Doordarshan and other channels. The district election officer, if they have a social media handle, shall display the notice there as well," it said. Senior Advocate Shadan Farasat told NDTV that many of those aggrieved will get some relief after today's ruling. "At least they will come to know why their names have been deleted from the voter list and can file an appeal. This is a major relief. They can also submit Aadhaar. We will continue our legal battle," he said.
The Wire
5 days ago
- Politics
- The Wire
Bihar SIR Hearing: As Petitioners Give Evidence of Omissions, SC Says ECI Expanding Number of Documents
New Delhi: While hearing the challenge to the Election Commission of India's (ECI's) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar, the Supreme Court on Wednesday (August 13) asked the petitioners whether the ECI does not have the residual power to conduct such an exercise in a manner it deemed fit. The Supreme Court bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymala Bagchi did not appear to be moved by the evidence of omissions and chose to describe the process as 'in fact, voter-friendly and not voter-exclusionary' given that the poll body is accepting 11 documents as proof of identity as opposed to seven during past revision exercises. 'They are expanding the number of documents of identity … it gives you more options,' Justice Joymalya Bagchi said, reported Indian Express. To petitioners challenging the EC's power to hold such an intensive revision, the other judge on that bench, Justice Surya Kant, drew attention to Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, which says that the commission 'may … direct a special revision of the electoral roll for any constituency or part of a constituency in such manner as it may think fit'. When lawyer Gopal Sankaranarayanan said that the current exercise wasn't taking place just in one constituency but an entire state, Justice Bagchi asked why the SIR could not be seen as a special revision occurring in each of Bihar's seats simultaneously, reported LiveLaw. Sankaranarayanan also said that adult Indian citizens have the right to be enrolled as voters under Article 326, but Justice Bagchi said the EC would in turn say it has the power under Article 324 to conduct elections and prepare voter rolls. 'It is a battle between a constitutional right and a constitutional power,' he said. The bench will likely resume hearing the matter tomorrow. Advocate Prashant Bhushan questioned why the ECI removed the searchable version of the draft roll from its website, adding that the ECI did it on the very next day of Lok Sabha leader of opposition Rahul Gandhi's press conference, alleging voter list manipulations. Bhushan demanded that the ECI should publish the list of the 65 lakh voters who have been omitted from the list along with the reasons for the omission. "They say they have exact reasons for deletion - why should they not be on the website? This shows mala fide intent," said Bhushan. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that the 11 documents which have been specified by the ECI as acceptable for the SIR have very little coverage among the population in Bihar. He questioned the exclusion of Aadhaar, EPIC, ration card, water and gas connection bills etc. from the list, said the LiveLaw report. The hearing will continue on Thursday (August 14).
Hans India
5 days ago
- Politics
- Hans India
Bihar SIR row: Electoral rolls can't remain static, bound for revision
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said electoral rolls cannot "remain static" and were bound to be revised as it disagreed with the submission that special intensive revision (SIR) of voter list in poll-bound Bihar had no basis in law and ought to be quashed. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi was informed by NGO Association of Democratic Reforms that the exercise should not be allowed to be carried out pan-India. Aside from the NGO, leaders of opposition parties including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress have challenged the electoral roll revision drive of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Bihar. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the NGO, said the ECI notification on SIR ought to be set aside for want of legal basis and never being contemplated in law. He, therefore, contended it couldn't be allowed to go on. The ECI can never conduct such an exercise since inception and it is being done for the first time in history and if allowed to happen only God knows where it will end, he added. "By that logic special intensive revision can never be done." "One-time exercise which is done is only for the original electoral roll. To our mind, the electoral roll can never be static," the bench noted. "There is bound to be revision," the top court said, "otherwise, how will the poll panel delete the names of those who are dead, migrated or shifted to other constituencies?" The bench went on to tell Sankaranarayanan that the ECI had residual power to conduct such an exercise as it deemed fit. It referred to Section 21(3) of the Representation of the Peoples Act (RP Act), which says "the Election Commission may at any time, for reasons to be recorded, direct a special revision of the electoral roll for any constituency or part of a constituency in such manner as it may think fit." Justice Bagchi further asked Sankaranarayanan, "When the primary legislation says 'in such manner as deemed fit' but the subordinate legislation does not... will it not give a residual discretion to ECI to dovetail the procedure not completely in ignorance of rules but some more additives than what the rules prescribe to deal with the peculiar requirement of a special revision?" Sankaranarayanan submitted that the provision only allowed revision of the electoral roll for "any constituency" or "for part of a constituency" and the ECI couldn't wipeout the rolls of an entire state for fresh inclusion. "Actually, it is a battle between a constitutional right and a constitutional power," Justice Bagchi said. The residuary power of the ECI flows from Article 324 of the Constitution and the RP Act mentions both summary revision and special revision and the ECI in the instant case has only added the word "intensive", that all, the judge noted. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, also appearing for the NGO, alleged the ECI played "mischief" and removed the search feature from the draft roll and the list of 65 lakh people whose names were deleted for being dead, migrated or shifted to other constituencies. "This happened just a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi did a press conference pointing out over lakh people as fake voters," he added, arguing an ordinary person was denied the right to search their name on the draft roll whether dead or alive or migrated to another place. Justice Kant said he was unaware of any such press conference but when it comes to the Registration of Electors Rule of 1960, Section 10 mandates the election commission to publish a copy of the draft roll at the office in the constituency. "They have to publish the draft roll at the office in the constituency. That's a minimum threshold under the law. However, we would have liked it if it was published on the website for wider publicity," Justice Bagchi said. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the ECI, said the petitioners claimed the rural population of Bihar was not tech savvy and now they were talking about the inability of the same people in searching online. During the hearing, the bench also told senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for petitioners, that the 11 documents required to be submitted by an elector for Bihar's SIR as opposed to seven documents in summary revision conducted previously showed the exercise was "voter friendly". It said despite petitioners' arguments that non-acceptance of Aadhaar was exclusionary, it appeared the large number of documents was "actually inclusionary". "The number of documents in summary revision conducted earlier in the state was seven and in SIR it is 11, which shows it is voter friendly. We understand your arguments that non-acceptance of Aadhaar is exclusionary, but a high number of documents is actually inclusionary," the bench said.
NDTV
6 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
"Electoral Rolls Can't Remain Static": Top Court On Bihar SIR Row
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday said electoral rolls cannot "remain static" and were bound to be revised as it disagreed with the submission that special intensive revision (SIR) of voter list in poll-bound Bihar had no basis in law and ought to be quashed. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi was informed by NGO Association of Democratic Reforms that the exercise should not be allowed to be carried out pan-India. Aside from the NGO, leaders of opposition parties including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress have challenged the electoral roll revision drive of the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Bihar. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the NGO, said the ECI notification on SIR ought to be set aside for want of legal basis and never being contemplated in law. He, therefore, contended it couldn't be allowed to go on. The ECI can never conduct such an exercise since inception and it is being done for the first time in history and if allowed to happen only God knows where it will end, he added. "By that logic special intensive revision can never be done. One-time exercise which is done is only for the original electoral roll. To our mind, the electoral roll can never be static," the bench noted. "There is bound to be revision," the top court said, "otherwise, how will the poll panel delete the names of those who are dead, migrated or shifted to other constituencies?" The bench went on to tell Sankaranarayanan that the ECI had residual power to conduct such an exercise as it deemed fit. It referred to Section 21(3) of the Representation of the Peoples Act (RP Act), which says "the Election Commission may at any time, for reasons to be recorded, direct a special revision of the electoral roll for any constituency or part of a constituency in such manner as it may think fit." Justice Bagchi further asked Sankaranarayanan, "When the primary legislation says 'in such manner as deemed fit' but the subordinate legislation does not... will it not give a residual discretion to ECI to dovetail the procedure not completely in ignorance of rules but some more additives than what the rules prescribe to deal with the peculiar requirement of a special revision?" Sankaranarayanan submitted that the provision only allowed revision of the electoral roll for "any constituency" or "for part of a constituency" and the ECI couldn't wipeout the rolls of an entire state for fresh inclusion. "Actually, it is a battle between a constitutional right and a constitutional power," Justice Bagchi said. The residuary power of the ECI flows from Article 324 of the Constitution and the RP Act mentions both summary revision and special revision and the ECI in the instant case has only added the word "intensive", that all, the judge noted. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, also appearing for the NGO, alleged the ECI played "mischief" and removed the search feature from the draft roll and the list of 65 lakh people whose names were deleted for being dead, migrated or shifted to other constituencies. "This happened just a day after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi did a press conference pointing out over lakh people as fake voters," he added, arguing an ordinary person was denied the right to search their name on the draft roll whether dead or alive or migrated to another place. Justice Kant said he was unaware of any such press conference but when it comes to the Registration of Electors Rule of 1960, Section 10 mandates the election commission to publish a copy of the draft roll at the office in the constituency. "They have to publish the draft roll at the office in the constituency. That's a minimum threshold under the law. However, we would have liked it if it was published on the website for wider publicity," Justice Bagchi said. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the ECI, said the petitioners claimed the rural population of Bihar was not tech savvy and now they were talking about the inability of the same people in searching online. During the hearing, the bench also told senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing for petitioners, that the 11 documents required to be submitted by an elector for Bihar's SIR as opposed to seven documents in summary revision conducted previously showed the exercise was "voter friendly". It said despite petitioners' arguments that non-acceptance of Aadhaar was exclusionary, it appeared the large number of documents was "actually inclusionary". "The number of documents in summary revision conducted earlier in the state was seven and in SIR it is 11, which shows it is voter friendly. We understand your arguments that non-acceptance of Aadhaar is exclusionary but a high number of documents is actually inclusionary," the bench said. The hearing will continue on Thursday. On August 12, the top court said inclusion and exclusion of citizens or non-citizens from the electoral rolls was within the remit of the Election Commission and backed its stand to not accept Aadhaar and voter cards as conclusive proof of citizenship in the SIR of voters' list in Bihar.
