Background
The Supreme Court heard petitions challenging the Election Commission's order to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electorate list in Bihar. A bench comprising Justice Suryakant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the Commission to furnish correct data and figures.
Court Proceedings
- RJD leader Manoj Jha was represented by senior lawyer Kapil Sibal.
- He also highlighted that in a constituency, the EC had reported 12 deaths but everyone was discovered alive.
- He also accused that some alive people were declared dead.
- Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the EC, said mistakes can occur in this process and would be rectified.
- The EC clarified that this is not the final roll and just a draft list.
Supreme Court's Advice
The bench requested the EC to be ready with:
- The number of voters prior to the SIR.
- The number of deaths reported earlier.
- The number of deaths reported now.
The Court observed that these numbers would be challenged in the hearing.
Hearings Previously
- On July 29, the Supreme Court declared it would act promptly if voters were being wiped out en masse during the SIR.
- On July 10, the Court declined to put on hold the EC's order to hold the SIR.
- The Court also recommended the use of the voter ID card as an identifying document of first resort, in addition to Aadhaar and ration cards.
Status of the SIR in Bihar
- The SIR procedure is over.
- The draft roll was published on August 1.
- The registered voters had dropped from 7.9 crore prior to the SIR to 7.24 crore in the draft.
- The final roll will be published on September 30.
- The opposition parties are agitating against the changes.
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