The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Election Commission of India (ECI) to make public the details of around 65 lakh voters whose names were removed from the electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in poll-bound Bihar.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi stressed the need for “transparency” so that affected individuals can seek clarification or correction. The court directed the ECI to display printed booth-wise lists of deleted voters, along with reasons for their deletion, at panchayat and block development offices, and to provide district-wise lists at the Chief Electoral Officer’s office.
Court’s Directions
The bench directed that:
- The deletion data be uploaded on the ECI’s official website by Tuesday.
- Soft copies on district electoral officer websites be searchable.
- Deletion details and reasons be publicised through newspapers, radio, and television.
- Aadhaar cards be accepted as valid proof of identity for voters.
The order follows petitions filed by leaders from RJD, Trinamool Congress, Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar), CPI, SP, Shiv Sena (Uddhav Thackeray), JMM, CPI (ML), PUCL, ADR, and activist Yogendra Yadav, challenging the EC’s June 24 decision to conduct the SIR.
On July 29, the apex court had warned it would intervene if there was “mass exclusion” of voters. The draft roll was published on August 1, with the final version expected by September 30. Opposition parties allege that the process could disenfranchise crores of eligible voters.
The bench held that the ECI had residual powers to conduct such an exercise as it deemed fit, rejecting the petitioners’ claim that the SIR lacked legal basis and should be quashed.
