Supreme Court Orders Transparency in Bihar Voter Roll Revision

Supreme Court's Directive on Voter Deletions

The Supreme Court has instructed the Election Commission to release a district-wise list of approximately 6.5 million voters whose names were removed from the draft electoral rolls in Bihar. This decision has been hailed by opposition parties as a significant message against electoral fraud.

Earlier today, the court mandated that the list, compiled following a special intensive revision process, be made available on the websites of the state's district electoral officers and the chief electoral officer.

Additionally, the court emphasized that the Election Commission must provide reasons for each deletion, including factors like death, migration, or duplicate registrations.

This ruling came in response to petitions contesting the voter roll revision in Bihar, which is gearing up for Assembly elections anticipated in October or November.

The draft roll released on August 1 indicated that 6.56 million names had been eliminated from the list. According to the Election Commission, 2.2 million were due to deaths, 3.6 million were individuals who had moved or were untraceable, and 700,000 were duplicate entries.

In light of the court's ruling, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge remarked that the efforts of millions of informed citizens, alongside the Congress Party and Rahul Gandhi, have yielded their first victory through the court's intervention.

The Congress Party was among those who filed petitions against the special intensive revision process.

Kharge noted, "The Election Commission's argument that Aadhaar is not valid for voting has now been acknowledged by the Supreme Court for those 6.5 million individuals in the special intensive revision case. We appreciate the court's decision made in the public interest."

He further stated, "We will ensure that the people's right to vote is not compromised!"

The court also instructed the Election Commission to clarify in public notices that individuals excluded from the list can submit their Aadhaar cards when claiming inclusion in the final voter list.

The court commented, "Your list of 11 documents appears citizen-friendly, but Aadhaar and the Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) are easily accessible." It suggested that notices should inform those who have not yet submitted claims that they can include Aadhaar and EPIC as well.

These two documents were not included in the Election Commission's list of 11 accepted forms of identification. Several petitioners had criticized the omission of Aadhaar, the most commonly held ID, from the list of acceptable documents, labeling it as "absurd."

Congress MP KC Venugopal expressed that the court's directives were encouraging, stating that it sends a strong message to those attempting to manipulate the electoral process in the state.

Venugopal emphasized that Aadhaar is widely held by marginalized communities, and the court's direction would enhance transparency in the special intensive revision process.

The Aam Aadmi Party described the court's ruling as a significant rebuke to the Election Commission associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party.

MA Baby, general secretary of the Communist Party of India (Marxist), referred to the court's directives as a "partial relief," but noted that the broader discussion surrounding the special intensive revision raises concerns about potential systemic issues that could threaten democracy.

Tejashwi Yadav, a leader of the Rashtriya Janata Dal, stated that the court has validated the Opposition's concerns regarding the special intensive revision process.

He remarked, "We were not against the special intensive revision itself, but rather the process and the information the Election Commission was attempting to conceal, which formed the basis of our opposition."

During the hearing, the court instructed the Election Commission to issue a clear notice to the public detailing where they can access the list of deleted voters.

The court stated, "If Poonam Devi has been removed, she should be informed of her deletion and the reasons behind it," adding that the documents should be searchable by Elector Photo Identity Card numbers.

The revision of Bihar's electoral rolls was announced by the Election Commission on June 24.

As part of this initiative, individuals whose names were not on the 2003 voter list were required to provide proof of eligibility to vote.

Voters born before July 1, 1987, needed to provide proof of their date and place of birth, while those born between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004, had to submit documents verifying the date and place of birth of one parent.

Individuals born after December 2, 2004, were required to provide proof of their date of birth as well as that of both parents.

The draft voter list published on August 1 includes electors who submitted their enumeration forms to the Election Commission between June 24 and July 26.

These individuals must now provide proof of citizenship to be included in the final list, which is set to be published on September 30.