The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Election Commission to consider accepting Aadhaar and Voter ID (EPIC card) as valid documents for the SIR process during the hearing on voter list revision in Bihar ahead of the assembly polls.
The top court also turned down the petitioners’ request to halt Bihar SIR, asserting that the draft was in its final stage and the fate of the exercise can be decided when it’s final.
Notably, several pleas were filed in the Supreme Court challenging the procedure, raising concerns over alleged irregularities in the draft electoral list.
Petitioners claim discrepancies
During the hearing, petitioners claimed that personal details of a large number of voters were uploaded without their knowledge or consent and in some cases, names of even deceased individuals were included in the forms.
The apex court, however, observed that since the process is still in its initial stage, there is no reason to halt it at this point.
The Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi posted the matter for hearing on July 29.
EC says 92% voters participated in SIR
According to the EC, over 7.24 crore of Bihar’s 7.89 crore eligible voters took part in the SIR process, which is nearly 92 per cent turnout. In a press release on July 27, the Commission addressed the issue of the 35 lakh voters identified as missing from the rolls.
The EC clarified that a significant number among these had either migrated to other states or union territories, while others had passed away. The poll body added that several failed to submit their enumeration forms or simply chose not to register.
The EC further stated that the final determination of these voters’ status will be made after a detailed review by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), which is expected to conclude by August 1.
