The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Election Commission (EC) to provide details of 3.66 lakh voters who were excluded from the final electoral roll after Bihar's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
The EC told the court that most of the added names are of new voters and no complaints or appeals have been filed by any excluded voters so far.
Supreme Court Seeks Transparency in Voter List
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said the poll panel must submit information on excluded voters by Thursday, October 9. The court will then continue hearing pleas challenging the SIR exercise.
The bench noted that the draft electoral roll was already available and the final list was published on September 30. “So the required data can be furnished through a comparative analysis,” they said.
Justice Bagchi Highlights Improved Transparency
Justice Bagchi told senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the EC, that court orders have improved transparency and access in the electoral process.
He added, “You'd agree with us that the degree of transparency and access has improved in the electoral process. It appears from the data that there was a 65 lakh deletion in the draft list which you published, and we said whoever is dead or moved is alright, but if you are deleting someone, please follow Rule 21 and the SOP."
“We also said that whoever is deleted, please put up their data in your electoral offices. Now the final list appears to be an appreciation of numbers and there is confusion in the general democratic process, what is the identity of the add-ons, are they of deleted names or new names.”
Dwivedi responded that most additions are new voters, with only a few old voters added after the draft roll. “No complaint or appeal filed till now by any excluded voters,” he said.
Final Electoral Roll Shows Mixed Changes
When publishing the final electoral list on September 30, the EC said the total number of electors fell by nearly 47 lakh, from 7.89 crore to 7.42 crore, following the SIR exercise.
However, the final figure increased by 17.87 lakh from the draft list issued on August 1, which had removed 65 lakh voters due to death, migration, or duplication.
In total, 21.53 lakh new electors were added to the draft list, while 3.66 lakh names were removed, resulting in a net increase of 17.87 lakh.
Bihar Poll Schedule Announced
On October 6, the EC announced the Bihar Assembly poll schedule. Elections will be held in 121 seats on November 6, and the remaining 122 constituencies will vote on November 11. The counting of votes will take place on November 14.
Inputs from PTI
The EC told the court that most of the added names are of new voters and no complaints or appeals have been filed by any excluded voters so far.
Supreme Court Seeks Transparency in Voter List
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said the poll panel must submit information on excluded voters by Thursday, October 9. The court will then continue hearing pleas challenging the SIR exercise.
The bench noted that the draft electoral roll was already available and the final list was published on September 30. “So the required data can be furnished through a comparative analysis,” they said.
Justice Bagchi Highlights Improved Transparency
Justice Bagchi told senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the EC, that court orders have improved transparency and access in the electoral process.
He added, “You'd agree with us that the degree of transparency and access has improved in the electoral process. It appears from the data that there was a 65 lakh deletion in the draft list which you published, and we said whoever is dead or moved is alright, but if you are deleting someone, please follow Rule 21 and the SOP."
“We also said that whoever is deleted, please put up their data in your electoral offices. Now the final list appears to be an appreciation of numbers and there is confusion in the general democratic process, what is the identity of the add-ons, are they of deleted names or new names.”
Dwivedi responded that most additions are new voters, with only a few old voters added after the draft roll. “No complaint or appeal filed till now by any excluded voters,” he said.
Final Electoral Roll Shows Mixed Changes
When publishing the final electoral list on September 30, the EC said the total number of electors fell by nearly 47 lakh, from 7.89 crore to 7.42 crore, following the SIR exercise.
However, the final figure increased by 17.87 lakh from the draft list issued on August 1, which had removed 65 lakh voters due to death, migration, or duplication.
In total, 21.53 lakh new electors were added to the draft list, while 3.66 lakh names were removed, resulting in a net increase of 17.87 lakh.
Bihar Poll Schedule Announced
On October 6, the EC announced the Bihar Assembly poll schedule. Elections will be held in 121 seats on November 6, and the remaining 122 constituencies will vote on November 11. The counting of votes will take place on November 14.
Inputs from PTI
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