Bihar SIR: SC allows voters to submit claims with Aadhaar or 11 documents; criticises parties for inaction

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to allow voters excluded from the draft electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar to submit claims online, in addition to physical submissions, as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi allowed claim forms to be submitted along with an Aadhaar card or any one of the 11 documents already accepted under the SIR. The court stressed that the exercise must be voter friendly, and Aadhaar, being widely held, should be accepted to ease the process. Expressing surprise at the inaction of political parties in helping citizens file objections related to over 65 lakh excluded voters , the court directed the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar to implead them in the proceedings. All political parties shall file a status report by the next date of hearing on the claim forms they have facilitated for excluded voters, the bench said, posting the matter for September 8. It also directed election officials to provide acknowledgement receipts to booth-level agents (BLAs) submitting claim forms physically on behalf of voters. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the poll panel, urged the court to give ECI a 15-day window to demonstrate that no genuine voters were excluded. Political parties are making hue and cry and things are not bad. Repose faith in us and give us some more time. We will be able to show there are no exclusions, he said. Bihar SIR row: ECI files affidavit in SC on voter roll exclusions ahead of Fridays hearing The apex court sharply criticised political parties for failing to assist voters despite having over 1.68 lakh BLAs in Bihar. After appointing BLAs, what are they doing? Why is there a distance between people and local political persons? Political parties must assist voters, the bench observed. It directed the 12 major parties to instruct their workers to help citizens file claims using Aadhaar or any of the 11 documents. BLAs were also asked to verify whether excluded voters were genuinely absent, deceased, or had shifted residence voluntarily. The ECI informed the court that around 85,000 excluded voters had submitted their claim forms, while over 2 lakh new voters had registered under the SIR exercise. Welcoming the Supreme Court directive on the Bihar SIR issue, the Congress said democracy has survived a rutal assault from the Election Commission of India (ECI) and claimed that the poll body stands otally exposed and discredited. The opposition party said the Supreme Court has laid down guardrails to make the revision more inclusive by including political parties in the process, and alleged that so far, the ECI's approach has been obstructionist and contrary to the interests of the voters. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said the party welcomes the Supreme Court directive on the Bihar SIR issue. Democracy has survived a brutal assault from the Election Commission of India (ECI), he claimed. On August 14, the court had directed the poll panel to publish by August 19 the names of the 65 lakh voters removed from the draft rolls to enhance transparency, along with reasons for their exclusion. The revision, the first in Bihar since 2003, has reduced the total number of registered voters from 7.9 crore to 7.24 crore, sparking a major political row. Opposition parties have alleged that genuine voters were removed without proper verification, while the apex court noted that transparency and voter-friendly procedures would help restore confidence in the process. (WIth inputs from PTI) To SIR, with love? Supreme Court's Bihar voter roll verdict and the battle for Democracy