In a significant move and a victory for Opposition parties, the Supreme Court on Thursday, August 14, directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish, on August 19, the details of 65 lakh persons deleted from Bihar’s revised electoral voters’ list after the special intensive revision exercise (SIR), which has raised many eyebrows.
“Disclosing the list will improve ‘voter confidence,'” a bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed while passing the direction in response to a petition filed by Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) challenging the special intensive revision (SIR) in Bihar for the upcoming Assembly elections due later this year.
It directed the list of 65 lakh voters whose names featured in the electoral roll but dropped from the draft roll to be published on August 1.
The list comprising names of those who have died, migrated or moved to other constituencies was directed to be displayed along with reasons at the panchayat level office and the office of district-level returning officers.
The top court further allowed people aggrieved by the deletion of their names to approach the poll officials along with their Aadhaar card.
The bench, while posting the matter for August 22, asked the poll panel to file a compliance report of its direction.
Leaders of opposition parties, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Congress and the NGO Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) have challenged the electoral roll revision drive in Bihar.
Oppn parties celebrate
The Congress described the EC directive as a “beacon of hope” and a “massive victory for democracy”, and said the top court has upheld the Constitution in a “categorical, convincing, and courageous” manner. The Congress along with the RJD and an NGO Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) are the petitioners in the case.
Reacting to the EC order, Congress general secretary in-charge organisation K C Venugopal said the Court rejecting the EC’s decision to not accept Aadhar is also a major boost since in a state like Bihar it is the most widely held document by the poor and marginalised.
RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav claimed that the court order exposed the BJP, its allies and their “nefarious design” to disenfranchise people.
(With PTI inputs)
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