Supreme Court Deems SIR Process in Bihar Not Anti-Voter. Court rejected Abhishek Manu Singhvi's argument, stating document verification is solely for voter benefit and convenience.
Bihar Voter List: The Supreme Court has taken a clear stance on petitions filed against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar. The court stated that this step is not intended to harass voters or exclude them from the list. Rather, this initiative has been undertaken to facilitate voters and make the election process more transparent.
The Supreme Court bench included Justices Surya Kant and Justice J.K. Bagchi. They clarified that the Election Commission's document verification campaign is not anti-voter in any way.
Abhishek Manu Singhvi's Argument and the Court's Response
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued in court that the document verification campaign is against the voters and is an attempt to exclude them from the voter list. He called it anti-voter and segregationist.
However, Justice Bagchi rejected this, saying that the argument was irrational. He clarified that the verification of documents is being done for the convenience of the voters. Justice Bagchi said, "Just look at how many documents you can use to prove citizenship. It's actually in favor of voters, not against them." Justice Surya Kant also supported this argument. He said that if only one document is requested, it cannot be considered anti-voter.
What is SIR and Why Was it Implemented?
SIR stands for Special Intensive Revision. This process is adopted by the Election Commission to update and verify the information of every voter.
In this process, citizenship and the right to vote are confirmed through documents. This ensures that only those who are eligible to vote in the election are included in the voter list.
