Supreme Court directs EC to accept Aadhaar as proof in Bihar voter list revision

The Supreme Court on Friday (August 22) said Bihar voters who find their names missing from the electoral roll ahead of this year’s Assembly polls can use Aadhaar as proof of residence. It directed the Election Commission to include Aadhaar in the list of valid identity documents.

Hearing petitions contesting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list, the top court said applications for re-inclusion can be submitted with either one of the 11 approved documents or the Aadhaar.

"Let them submit their application forms, be it with Aadhaar card or matriculation certificates," Justice Kant said as quoted by Live Law.

Also Read: Supreme Court directs EC to publish list of 65 lakh deleted voters

'Political parties not doing their job'

The court also took a stern view of Bihar’s political parties, asking why many of those who had opposed the revision, claiming it was “designed to disenfranchise” communities that traditionally support them, had not helped the more than 65 lakh voters removed from the rolls. “Political parties are not doing their jobs...” the court said, echoing the poll panel’s note that objections had been filed by individual politicians, i.e., MPs and MLAs, but not the parties.

The Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi directed the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar to implead the political parties in the court proceedings.

"All the political parties shall file the status report by the next date of hearing on the claim form they had facilitated in filing by excluded voters," the bench said as it posted the matter for September 8, reported PTI.

The bench further directed the election officials to furnish an acknowledgement receipt to the booth-level agents of the political parties, who submit the claim forms of excluded voters physically.

Also Read: Supreme Court asks EC for 2003 Bihar electoral roll documents

EC seeks 15-day window

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the poll panel, urged the court to give the ECI a 15-day window to show there was no exclusion.

"The 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 you there are no exclusions," Dwivedi said.

The Election Commission (EC) informed the top court that around 85,000 individual voters who were excluded from the draft rolls had submitted their claim forms. It further stated that over 2 lakh new voters had come forward to register their names in the electoral rolls under the SIR exercise in the state.

Also Read: SC on Bihar SIR: Option of 11 documents shows it is ‘voter-friendly’

The backdrop

The Supreme Court on August 14 directed the EC to publish by August 19 details of the 65 lakh voters excluded from the draft electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar to enhance "transparency" in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voters’ list and allow Aadhaar as an acceptable document for identity proof.

The Supreme Court notes that the EC should counter the “narrative being built” against it, adding that the details should include reasons for their non-inclusion during the ongoing SIR exercise.

"Transparency will create voter confidence." The revision of the voters’ list in Bihar - the first since 2003 - has sparked a huge political row. The SIR's findings have reduced the total number of 7.9 crore registered voters in Bihar, from before the exercise, to 7.24 crore.

(With agency inputs)