Supreme Court rejects change in SIR time limit in Bihar
Bihar: The Supreme Court said that the poll body may think about extending the deadline in the event of a large number of answers, but on Friday it declined to change the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision of electoral records in vote-bound Bihar.
The Supreme Court also permitted those who were left off of the draft electoral register to apply online for inclusion using an Aadhaar card or any of the eleven papers listed by the Election Commission of India.
Twelve recognized political parties in Bihar were instructed by a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi to direct their Booth Level Agents to help the individuals in their booths submit the forms and provide a progress report by September 8.
The top court was also taken aback by the fact that just two objections were raised by around 1.6 lakh political party Booth Level Agents. However, several political parties argued that the BLAs were not allowed to voice their complaints, the Court observed.
The Election Commission’s efforts to carry out the SIR were also praised by the highest court, which pointed out that the exercise aims to “include” voters.
Speaking on behalf of the Election Commission of India, Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi said that more than 2 lakh applications have been submitted by new voters seeking to be added to the list and that none of the 12 recognized political parties in the state have raised any objections.
“They are only inciting panic to further their political agendas. The political parties have an obligation to step forward and help the Election Commission finish its task. According to Live Law, Dwivedi said, “But they are not cooperating.”
Dwivedi asked the court to allow the ECI to demonstrate that there was no exclusion for a period of 15 days. “Things are not horrible, despite the political parties’ clamor. Put your trust in us and give us a little more time. There are no exceptions, as we will be able to demonstrate,” Dwivedi said.
Bihar’s voters’ list change, the first since 2003, has caused a major political uproar. According to the SIR’s conclusions, there are now 7.24 crore registered voters in Bihar instead of the 7.9 crore that existed before the operation. The names of 65 lakh individuals who were struck off the draft electoral lists were released by the Election Commission on Monday.