SC warns of immediate action if mass voter exclusion occurs in Bihar
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New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday orally observed that it would "immediately step in" if the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar leads to the mass exclusion of voters.
The observation came from a Bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India's (ECI) June 26 decision to conduct the SIR. The petitioners argued that the directive could lead to arbitrary disenfranchisement of lakhs of voters, potentially compromising the fairness of the electoral process and undermining democracy.
During the hearing, advocate Prashant Bhushan submitted that, as per an ECI statement, 65 lakh individuals had not submitted the required enumeration forms under the SIR process, as they were either deceased or had permanently relocated.
Responding to these concerns, Justice Kant assured Bhushan that the court is actively overseeing the matter and will act if any significant exclusion occurs. "We are here, we will hear your concerns. We are overviewing the matter as a judicial authority. If there is mass exclusion, we will immediately step in," the Bench stated, posting the matter for further hearing on August 12 and 13.
The court also noted that the Election Commission, as a constitutional authority, is expected to act in accordance with the law and the Constitution.
On Monday, the same Bench had refused to grant an interim stay on the publication of the draft electoral rolls. However, it stressed that the ECI should consider Aadhaar and Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) as reliable documents for voter verification.
Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing on behalf of the ECI, expressed concern over the reliability of various identity documents, particularly ration cards, citing the possibility of forgery. In response, the court noted that while ration cards may be easily forged, Aadhaar and voter ID cards carry a presumption of genuineness and should be relied upon for verification purposes. "You proceed with these two documents (Aadhaar and EPIC). Wherever you find forgery, that’s on a case-to-case basis," the Bench stated.
According to the schedule announced by the ECI, every elector who has submitted the enumeration form, whether or not supporting documents are attached, will be included in the draft electoral roll, which is scheduled for publication on August 1.
The Commission clarified that those who fail to submit their forms by this date will still be eligible for inclusion in the final roll by filing a claim in the prescribed format along with the required declaration. The claims period will remain open for 31 days after the draft roll’s publication, concluding on September 1, 2025.
In its affidavit filed before the Supreme Court, the ECI further stated that even after the final roll is published on September 30, newly eligible voters may still be enrolled up to the last date for filing nominations for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.
With IANS inputs
