• Source:JND
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Bihar Electoral Roll Revision:The Supreme Court on Thursday refused to pause the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar; however, it raised a question on the timing and list of the documents. The apex court stated that the Election Commission's revision of the voter list aligns with constitutional rights and cannot be considered undemocratic.

While hearing the petitions from the opposition parties and civil societies, a bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi stated that some of the commonly available documents, including Aadhar Card and Ration Card, should be included in the verification process.

Here are some of the top quotes from the Supreme Court:

Concern over timing: The apex court pointed out that while the revision process is as per the constitution, it could be held irrespective of the election. “Your exercise is not the problem; it is the timing," the court pointed out. "If you are to check citizenship under SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, then you should have acted early; it is a bit late," the bench added.

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Question over the lists of documents: The Supreme Court also pointed out that some of the documents listed by the poll body are owned by a very small population of the state. It further asked why the Aadhar Card is not available in the list. "We have a serious doubt on whether you can follow this timeline. Remember, you have to follow the procedure. It is something that is not practical. one thing that we will record and our order is that this list of documents is not exhaustive and you will consider Aadhar?" the court said.

Over Election Commission's rights: The apex court also pointed out that the poll body has no right to define citizenships, adding that the domain belongs to the Home Ministry. “Why are you getting into citizenship issue in special revision of electoral rolls in Bihar? It is domain of MHA,” the court asked.

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Legality of revision process: The Supreme Court stated that the SIR is as per the constitution, adding that the poll body has the right to revise the voter list as they already have data for that. “What they are doing is mandated under the constitution. You cannot say that they are doing something which is not a mandate under the constitution you see. They have fixed a date of 2003 since an intensive excercise has been conducted. They have data for that. Why should they scratch their head again? ECI has a logic behind this,” the bench stated.

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