New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday pulled up political parties in Bihar for failing to help voters who were left out of the draft electoral rolls during the state’s special intensive revision (SIR) exercise.
A bench led by Justice Surya Kant directed 12 political parties to instruct their workers to actively assist people in filing claims and objections. Voters can use Aadhaar or any of the 11 identity documents listed by the Election Commission (EC).
The court said it will not change the SIR timeline for now. It had earlier clarified that voters whose names were struck off could submit Aadhaar to challenge deletions.
Court Questions Parties’ Silence
The bench expressed surprise after the EC revealed that Bihar has more than 1.68 lakh booth-level agents (BLAs) of political parties, yet only two objections have been filed so far.
“After appointing BLAs, what are they doing? Why is there a distance between people and political workers?” Justice Kant remarked.
The court reminded parties that their BLAs must check if the 65 lakh voters missing from the draft rolls were genuinely dead, had shifted residence, or were wrongly excluded.
Opposition Cries Foul
Opposition parties had earlier claimed large-scale irregularities. Many alleged that voters who are alive were declared dead in the draft rolls published on August 1. They warned that lakhs of people could be disenfranchised.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing political parties, told the court that their BLAs were not being allowed to submit objections.
Taking note, the court impleaded 12 registered political parties in the case.
Online and Physical Filing Allowed
Justice Kant directed that objections can also be filed online. If forms are submitted physically, booth-level officers must acknowledge receipt.
The matter will continue to be heard as Bihar prepares for elections later this year.
Tags: #SupremeCourt #BiharElections #VoterRolls #ECI #Democracy #Politics
