SIR 'prerogative' of EC, directive to them is interference: SC
What's the story
The Supreme Court has ruled that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar is the exclusive domain of the Election Commission. The response came after the ECI was asked to notify the bench on when it planned to conduct SIR in five more states. Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi emphasized that "conducting SIR is the prerogative and exclusive domain of the Election Commission." "If we come in between, this would be interfering," the bench said.
Transparency concerns
Petitioners raise concerns about voter deletions
The court was hearing a petition challenging the SIR process. Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing the petitioners, argued that many people were not informed about their names being deleted from the electoral rolls. He said, "None of the 3.66 lakh people whose names were deleted received any notice." Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the Association for Democratic Reforms, also raised concerns over transparency in removing voters, stating that 4.7 million names were removed, highlighting issues with notification.
EC's defense
EC defends its actions, says people were informed
On the other hand, advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Election Commission, defended their actions by saying that people were informed about deletions and copies of draft and final lists were given to political parties. The final electoral rolls in Bihar have nearly 7.42 crore names after SIR, with 68 lakh names deleted and 21 lakh added again after the claims and objections period.
Information request
Supreme Court asks petitioners for list of voters
The bench has asked petitioners to provide a list of people who were not informed about their deletions and want to appeal. "We need to understand how the system works. They won't provide information from the headquarters. They have to verify at ground level. The question is, who are we doing this for? Why aren't people coming forward?" it said. The hearing will continue on Thursday, after the Election Commission announced two-phase polling for the Bihar Assembly polls in November.
SIR
Election Commission to conduct SIR nationwide
Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Monday informed that the ECI has decided to conduct SIR of voter lists throughout the country after the Bihar Assembly elections. "The Election Commission has already taken a decision to conduct a pan-India SIR in every state and union territory. It is a work in progress. The EC will decide on the dates and make a formal announcement," he said during a press conference.