The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to accept the Aadhaar card as one of the permissible documents for voters participating in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar. The apex court clarified that applications for inclusion or re-inclusion in the rolls can be supported by any of the 11 documents already notified by the ECI or by an Aadhaar card.
The order came during the hearing of petitions challenging the Commission’s June 24 directive for a state-wide SIR in Bihar. Petitioners had argued that the process lacked adequate safeguards, enabling arbitrary deletion of names and potentially disenfranchising thousands, thereby endangering the fairness of elections.
The court noted that on August 10 it had already urged the ECI to consider Aadhaar, ration cards, and EPIC cards as admissible documents for the exercise. However, the Commission’s subsequent affidavit excluded Aadhaar and ration cards from the approved list.
ECI’s Stand on SIR
Defending its directive, the poll body told the court that it is empowered to conduct such an exercise under Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. The ECI said the SIR was necessary in Bihar due to urban migration, demographic changes, and the fact that an intensive revision had not been carried out in nearly two decades.
The Commission maintained that the process would help ensure the accuracy of electoral rolls ahead of the Assembly polls, with only eligible citizens included.
Court’s Directions to Political Parties
The Bench, expressing surprise at the inaction of political parties in addressing voter deletions, directed 12 parties to instruct their booth-level workers to assist voters in filing forms with any of the approved documents or Aadhaar.
Justice Surya Kant observed, “All 12 political parties in Bihar shall issue specific directions to party workers to assist people in filing and submission of requisite forms with any 11 documents in Form 6 or Aadhaar card.”
The court highlighted that despite over 1.68 lakh booth-level agents (BLAs) of political parties being deployed in the state, only two objections had been filed so far. The Bench remarked, “We are only surprised by the inaction of political parties. After appointing BLAs, what are they doing? Why is there a distance between people and local political persons? Political parties must assist voters.”
The court also directed BLAs to verify whether the 65 lakh names missing from the draft roll pertained to deceased individuals, those who had shifted residence, or voters who needed to be facilitated for re-inclusion.
