Opposition's fight pays off; Supreme Court intervenes in Bihar voter list issue, EC ordered to publish list of 65 lakh voters who were recently removed from electoral roll

NEW DELHI: At a time when opposition parties across the country are raising concerns about voter list irregularities, the Supreme Court has issued an order that comes as a setback for the Election Commission.

The court has directed the Commission to urgently publish the list of 65 lakh voters who were recently removed from the rolls in Bihar, where Assembly elections are due later this year. For each removed voter, the reason for removal must be clearly mentioned.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said this move would only improve the Commission’s credibility. The court was responding to petitions filed by political parties from the INDIA alliance and various NGOs.

The court also directed that Aadhaar should be accepted as a valid identity document. Aadhaar was not included in the 11 ID documents approved by the Commission earlier. The court ordered the Commission to publish advertisements announcing that Aadhaar will now be accepted. This will give people removed from the voter list a chance to use their Aadhaar to get their names reinstated.

The list of removed voters must be published on the official websites of the Bihar Chief Electoral Officer and the district election offices. Details of the list must also be advertised in local language newspapers and television channels, and promoted through the Commission’s social media accounts. This is to ensure that those removed are aware and can challenge it legally if they wish.

The list must be arranged booth-wise. People should be able to get the information by providing their voter ID number. Notices must also be posted on the notice boards of panchayat offices, and booth-level officers must take steps to make this happen.

Only five days

All these actions must be completed before August 19, and a report must be submitted to show compliance. The matter will be reviewed again on August 22. This is a blow to the Election Commission, which had earlier strongly opposed creating a separate list of removed voters. Now it faces the big challenge of completing the task within five days.

Aadhaar: Court goes back to earlier position

From the beginning, the Supreme Court had supported accepting Aadhaar during Bihar’s intensive voter list revision. But the Commission strongly opposed it. On August 12, while hearing the case, the court had agreed with the Commission’s argument that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship. However, when the case came up again yesterday, the court went back to its earlier position.

“The Supreme Court order is a big message to those who steal votes. It will continue to expose the Election Commission’s unjust practices.”

– K.C. Venugopal, MP, AICC General Secretary