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The Hindu
18 hours ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
Law does not require sharing details of persons not included in draft electoral roll: ECI tells Supreme Court
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has informed the Supreme Court that the law does not require the poll body to prepare or share any separate list of names of people missing from draft electoral rolls or publish the reasons for their non-inclusion 'for any reason' whatsoever. The ECI was responding to a plea by NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), represented by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Neha Rathi, to provide booth-wise list of names of approximately 65 lakh electors in poll-bound Bihar whose enumeration forms were not received along with reasons for non-submission, including death, permanent shifting out of the State, duplication or untraceability, during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The NGO had also sought the publication of booth-wise lists of electors whose enumeration forms were marked 'not recommended by the Booth Level Officers (BLOs). Urging for contempt action against the NGO for misleading the Supreme Court, the ECI responded that no such lists need to be prepared or shared of 'previous' electors whose enumeration forms were not received. 'No such list can be sought by the petitioner as a matter of right,' the ECI said in a separate reply filed in addition to a supplementary affidavit in the top court. The poll body referred to the Representation of People Act, 1950 and Rules 10 and 11 Registration of Electors Rules (RER), 1960 to buttress its case. Rule 10 indicates that upon formation of a draft electoral roll, a copy is to be made available for inspection outside the Electoral Registration Officer's (ERO) office. Rule 11 only required the ERO to make 'each separate part of the draft roll accessible to the public in the area to which that part relates, and supply two copies of each separate part of the roll to every recognised political party. The ECI said it has complied with these obligations. 'After the publication of the draft rolls, the political parties were supplied with an updated list of names of electors not included in the draft roll so as to ensure all attempts are made to reach out to these individuals and no eligible elector is left out. The political parties have acknowledged receipt of the said list. Here, it is also pertinent to point out that the list includes acknowledgements on behalf of CPI(M-L) as well,' the ECI said. CPI(M-L) had objected to the deletions in the draft roll, saying living voters had been shown as dead. The ECI further said BLOs had held polling station meetings with Booth Level Agents (BLAs) of political parties on August 7, almost a week after the publication of the preliminary electoral roll on August 1. 'The list of electors whose names could not be included in the draft electoral roll were read out and shared and appeals were made to the BLAs and others to reach out to them so that no eligible voter can be left out,' the ECI submitted. The ECI explained that no separate inquiry is done to include names at the time of preparing the draft electoral roll. Names against every enumeration form were added 'without any reservation or exception'. 'Individuals whose names do not figure in the draft electoral roll published on August 1 can submit an application under Form 6 along with the declaration contained in Annexure-D of the SIR Order to lodge a claim for inclusion in the draft roll during the claims and objections period from August 1 till September 1, 2025,' the ECI noted. It would be implicit from the filing of Form 6 that an elector, who was not included in the preliminary electoral roll due to non-submission of enumeration form, was neither deceased nor permanently shifted nor untraceable. The ECI said providing reasons for deletion of names from the draft roll, at this point of time, served 'no practical purpose'. 'Exclusion of a name from the draft electoral roll does not amount to deletion of an individual from the electoral rolls. The draft roll simply shows that the duly filled enumeration form of existing electors has been received during the enumeration phase,' the ECI reasoned. Besides, EROs have the power to take remedial action in individual cases in which names were left out. Rules of the RER 1960 requires the ERO to issue notice of hearing for each and every claim and objection made. Claimants and objectors whose names are missing from the draft roll are served with reasons for the deletion of their names. A comprehensive inquiry would be conducted into each of these claims and objections. On the petitioner's allegation that 'huge percentage of electors were marked 'not recommended' by the BLOs', the ECI said the submission of eligibility documents is ongoing in the claims and objection period and the recommendatory exercise that the BLOs were required to conduct has become 'meaningless'.
The Hindu
a day ago
- Politics
- The Hindu
No name will be deleted without notice, says ECI on Bihar SIR
The Election Commission of India (ECI) assured the Supreme Court on Saturday (August 9, 2025) that deletion of voters' names in the Bihar draft electoral roll, published on August 1 as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, would be done only after issuing prior notice indicating the grounds for the action. The ECI was responding to an application filed by Association for Democratic Reforms, represented by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Neha Rathi, in court to direct the poll body to provide individual details of the approximately 65 lakh names deleted from the draft electoral roll. The affidavit did not directly address this point raised by the NGO. Instead, the commission said its policy would be adhere to the principles of natural justice by giving voters facing deletion a 'reasonable opportunity of being heard and furnishing relevant documents'. The subsequent order by the competent authority would be 'a reasoned and speaking' one. 'These safeguards are further 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 EC said in an additional affidavit. Booth-level lists have been provided to political parties, the EC assured. 'To facilitate thorough scrutiny of the draft roll from August 1 to September 1, printed and digital copies of draft rolls have been made available to political parties, and online facility for the public at large,' the affidavit said. The poll body said 2.5 lakh volunteers, mostly Bihar government officials, have been deployed to assist eligible voters obtain requisite documents from the various State departments to avoid exclusion from the final electoral roll. 'Accordingly, even in cases in which any vulnerable elector does not presently possess any document, he/she would be facilitated in the process of obtaining such documents. The Commission is taking every possible step to ensure that eligible elector is not excluded from the electoral roll,' the affidavit updated about the ongoing claims and objections process following the publication of the draft roll. The poll body said advertisements in Hindi were issued setting out the timeframe and the manner for filing applications and participating in the claims and objections period so as to secure inclusion of the names of eligible voters before the final publication of the Bihar electoral rolls. The EC said it has completed the first stage of the SIR, which has yielded 'substantial progress'. Repeated house visits were made by the 77,895 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to collect enumeration forms to ensure no voter was left behind in Bihar. Provisions were made for any of the over 1.6 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs), appointed by 'all major political parties', to submit up to 50 enumeration forms in a day, the EC said. Special urban camps in 261 urban local bodies to attract the attention of urban voters and Hindi advertisements in 246 newspapers were issued and Chief Electoral Officers of all States and Union Territories were asked to facilitate the online/physical filing of forms to make sure that no temporary migrant from Bihar was left out of the roll. Young electors who attained the qualifying age as on October 1 are being wooed to enrol in special campaigns scheduled for the claims and objections period.
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Business Standard
4 days ago
- Politics
- Business Standard
No party raised claim or objection to draft electoral rolls in Bihar: EC
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday said that not even a single claim or objection has been submitted by any political party regarding the draft electoral rolls in Bihar. The Election Commission has asserted that no eligible elector will be left out and no ineligible elector will be included in the final electoral roll of Bihar. It has appealed to submit claims and objections to rectify any errors in the draft electoral Roll of Bihar, which was published on August 1. However, the EC has received 5,015 claims and objections directly from the electors with respect to the draft roll till today, said the ECI in a daily bulletin on the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Bihar. Forms received from new electors on attaining 18 years of age or above are 27,517. As per the rules, the claims & objections are to be disposed of by the concerned Electoral Registration Officer/Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (ERO/AERO) after the expiry of 7 days. As per SIR orders, no name can be deleted from the draft list published on August 1, without passing a speaking order by the ERO/AERO after conducting an enquiry and after giving a fair and reasonable opportunity. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar has sparked a political row, with the opposition INDIA bloc alleging that the revision process could lead to the deletion of a large number of voters. They have been protesting in the Parliament, demanding a discussion over the Bihar SIR, since the start of this year's monsoon session. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Election Commission to file its response by August 9 on a fresh application of an NGO seeking disclosure of data of 65 lakh voters who were not included in the Bihar draft electoral roll after the SIR drive. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for an NGO, mentioned the matter before the apex court, saying no specific information has been given on who is dead and who has permanently migrated out. A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh asked the counsel for the Election Commission to furnish the details of deleted voters, the data which has been shared with the political parties, and give a copy to the NGO. The Election Commission said all requisite information had been given to political parties. The bench told Bhushan that the reason for deletion would come in the subsequent time, as it is now only a draft list. However, Bhushan said that some political parties have been given a list of deleted voters, but they have not further clarified whether the voter is dead or has migrated. On August 1, ECI released the draft electoral rolls for Bihar, following the completion of the Enumeration Phase under the SIR 2025. It said the public has one month to submit claims and objections, assuring that "no name will be removed from the draft voter list without a stated reason". The poll panel said that l.60 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) nominated by District Presidents of 12 political parties actively participated in the process on the ground. The commission enabled electors to verify their names through the official link using their EPIC numbers. They were also allowed to file claims and objections for inclusion or deletion of names through the same portal. In a drive to ensure accurate and updated voter identity cards, the ECI urged all voters to submit new photographs to their Booth Level Officers (BLOs) by September 1, 2025. According to data from the revision exercise in Bihar, around 35 lakh electors have either migrated permanently or could not be traced at their registered addresses.
NDTV
4 days ago
- Politics
- NDTV
Top Court Asks Poll Body To Come Clean On Data Of Voters Deleted From Bihar List
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the Election Commission (EC) to file a reply within three days (by August 9) to an application seeking disclosure of details of 65 lakh voters whose names were excluded from the draft electoral rolls as part of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in poll-bound Bihar. The rolls were released on August 1. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), today sought an urgent hearing of a fresh application in the ongoing SIR proceedings in the Supreme Court. The petitioners claimed the poll body's list fails to provide any explanations for these exclusions. "It fails to provide any explanation as to why these names were not included in the Draft Electoral Rolls, whether for reasons of having been dead, permanently migrated out of Bihar, being untraceable or on the grounds of duplicate entry," the application in the top court read. "The ECI's concealment of the reason for deletion against each name in the list of 65 lakh electors seems to be an attempt to obviate the general public, including the petitioners, from ascertaining whether or not electors whose names figure in the said list are indeed dead or permanently migrated," it added. Justice Surya Kant said that as per the Election Commission's SOP, every representative of the political party will be provided with the details. However, advocate Prashant Bhushan - who was representing the petitioner - told the court that more than 75 percent of voters who have filled the enumeration form allegedly didn't furnish any supporting documents mentioned in the list of 11 documents and that their inclusion or exclusion was based on the recommendation of Booth Level Officers (BLO) of the poll panel. The petition also sought details on the assembly constituency and booth-wise list of electors whose enumeration forms have been marked "not recommended by the BLOs." The petitioners sought the direction so that political parties and the general public can cross-check and verify the draft electoral rolls. The petition claimed that the present list of names dropped from the draft rolls "provided by the EC to some political parties serves no purpose, and cannot be used to cross-check any details from the ground". It claimed that the poll body had the data on the reasons for deleting the names, but it still removed the column specifying these reasons before releasing the draft roll on August 1. It alleged that while the EC had provided this information in an earlier version of the electoral roll shared with some political parties before the draft roll was published, the corresponding column titled "Uncollectable Reason" was omitted from the list circulated after publication. The Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to clarify whether the draft roll was shared with political parties prior to publication, and to specify which parties were given the lists. The poll body, however, said the information about deleted voters had already been shared with the booth-level representatives of political parties. Justice Kant-led bench then asked the EC to place the details on record. The top court will resume hearing the SIR matter on August 12. In the last hearing, the top court had remarked that the political parties must act as NGOs and bring to the notice of the court if there were any cases of unjust exclusion. On Tuesday, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) filed an interlocutory application in the plea challenging the decision of the EC for an SIR in Bihar. It referred to the poll body press statement dated July 25, which said that nearly 65 lakh voter names stand to be deleted from the existing electoral rolls as a result of the SIR process. The reasons cited by the EC for non-inclusion of previously registered voters in the draft rolls included death (22.34 lakh), 'permanently shifted/absent' (36.28 lakh) and 'already enrolled (at more than one place)' (7.01 lakh). The petition also claimed that, as per the Election Commission, those whose names do not figure in the draft roll "do not enjoy the right to routine legal remedies (notice, personal hearing and appeals) available under Section 21A of the Registration of Voters Rules". "They do not have the option of participating in the process of claims and objections and thus are at the biggest risk of disenfranchisement." The application read. The draft electoral roll was published on August 1 and the final roll on September 30 amid opposition claims that the ongoing exercise will deprive crores of eligible citizens from their right to vote.
India Today
4 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
Top court seeks poll body's reply on alleged deletion of 65 lakh voters in Bihar
The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice to the Election Commission, seeking a response to allegations of irregularities concerning the deletion of 65 lakh names from Bihar's draft voter list during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll ahead of the Assembly Prashant Bhushan, representing the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), contended in his petition that the identity of the 65 lakh names struck off from Bihar's electoral roll remains petitioner further alleged that out of 32 lakh names that were removed, citing migration, the central poll body is yet to provide any details of the names that were deleted from the electoral roll. Prashant Bhushan argued before a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan, and N K Singh that it appeared Booth Level Officers (BLOs) may have independently decided to remove names, warranting further central poll body released the draft voter list for Bihar on Friday after a month-long SIR exercise, aimed at updating amd cleaning up the electoral roll. The EC further announced that the public has one month to lodge any grievance and submit any claims, assuring them that "no name will be removed from the draft voter list without a stated reason."Justice Surya Kant noted that, according to ECI's Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), political party representatives should be provided with the voter list at the block response, Bhushan claimed that the list at the block level was not shared with the representatives of political parties. "They have not conveyed. In case they have given to some political party, reasons are not given," he Bhushan's submissions, the central poll body clarified that the draft list has been shared with all political parties before publication to ensure a comprehensive review."Why can't you say all this in a reply? If you have supplied, please give a list of political parties to whom you have supplied, so that Mr Bhushan's client can collect information from those authorised representatives. File your reply by Saturday," Justice Kant said, as reported by Live top court is slated to hear the petitions challenging the Bihar SIR exercise on August 12.- EndsMust Watch
