Supreme Court to Hear Plea on Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar Today. Election Commission Claims Process is Valid; NGOs and Leaders Call it Unconstitutional and Opaque.
Bihar voter list: The Supreme Court will today hear a plea concerning the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process initiated by the Election Commission in Bihar. A total of 28 petitions have been filed against this process, alleging it to be non-transparent and unconstitutional. The Election Commission has filed an affidavit asserting the process is valid and transparent. NGOs, political parties, and social activists have raised serious objections to it.
Controversy Over Election Commission's SIR Process
The Election Commission issued an order on June 24 for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list, ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections. The aim was to purify the voter list, remove ineligible individuals, and add eligible voters. The Election Commission claims that this process is being conducted with complete transparency.
In its affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the Election Commission stated that the process was initiated with the consent of all major political parties, and over 1.5 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLA) were appointed.
Key Objections of the Petitioners
A total of 28 petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court against this process. The primary petitioner is the NGO 'Association for Democratic Reforms' (ADR).
ADR alleges that the SIR process grants unlimited powers to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO), potentially leading to the removal of names of millions of voters without transparency. They also contend that essential documents like Aadhaar Card and Ration Card have been removed from the list of accepted documents for voter registration, without providing a valid justification.
Allegations of Fraud and Irregularities
In its affidavit, ADR has alleged that this entire process is a "fraud" against the voters. They claim that in many places, Booth Level Officers (BLO) are filling out forms themselves. Applications are being made in the names of deceased individuals, and messages confirming form submission are being sent to people who have not submitted any applications. ADR has stated that this is an arbitrary way for the Election Commission to meet its targets, which is against the spirit of democracy.
Questions on the Role of Political Parties
ADR also argues that the Election Commission's claim that this process was initiated at the request of political parties is false. According to the NGO, no party had demanded a new review of the voter list. Instead, their complaint was that the names of genuine voters were being removed, and fake names were being added.
Individual Petitions by Leaders
Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and social activist Yogendra Yadav have also filed separate petitions.
Manoj Jha states that, for the first time, a citizenship document is being required to become a voter. Previously, only proof of date of birth and residence were needed. Now, proof of citizenship has also been made mandatory. Yogendra Yadav's petition states that this process is likely to result in the removal of approximately 4 million voters from the list.
Previous Remarks by the Supreme Court
On July 10, a vacation bench presided over by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia directed the Election Commission to include Aadhaar Card, Voter ID, and Ration Card in the list of valid documents. The Court also clarified that the review process of the list of over seven crore voters could continue until a final order is issued.
