Bihar SIR: Claims/objections filed after September 1 will be considered
What's the story
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has told the Supreme Court that claims and objections regarding the draft electoral rolls in Bihar can be filed even beyond the September 1 deadline. Furthermore, all claims/objections filed before the last date of nominations will be considered. A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi took note of this submission while hearing applications from political parties seeking a two-week extension to the deadline.
Legal assistance
Para-legal volunteers to help voters
The court also directed the Bihar State Legal Services Authority to appoint paralegal volunteers to help voters with online submissions of claims and objections. These volunteers will submit confidential reports to District Judges, which may be compiled at the state level. During the hearing, senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the ECI, noted that political parties are mainly filing objections for voter exclusion from the draft list.
Voter exclusion
Over 1 lakh objections filed for voter exclusion
Dwivedi said that 99.5% of voters have filed forms, with only a small number seeking inclusion after the court's August 22 order. He added that over one lakh objections have been filed for voter exclusion. The court was hearing applications from political party representatives, including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Kumar Jha and Bihar MLA Akhtarul Iman, who sought an extension to the September 1 deadline.
Compliance review
Names of excluded voters to be published
The court had earlier directed the ECI to allow excluded voters to apply for inclusion online using their Aadhaar cards. It had also asked the ECI to publish names of the 65 lakh excluded voters and reasons for their exclusion on the Bihar CEO's website and the websites of the District electoral officers. Observing that the ECI should put an end to the "narrative being built" against it, the bench said, "Transparency will create voter confidence."