Bihar SIR: SC asks ECI to accept online claims for inclusion in voter list

New Delhi: In a relief to those whose names were missing from the draft electoral roll following the first phase of Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to accept their claim forms online, without insisting on physical submission of documents.

The order was passed by a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi while hearing a batch of pleas challenging the June 26 order issued by the ECI directing SIR in Bihar.

The Justice Surya Kant-led Bench asked political parties and their booth-level agents (BLAs) across the state to assist people who were unable to submit their enumeration forms and, as a result, had their names omitted from the voters’ list.

It also ordered that the 12 recognised political parties in Bihar be impleaded in the SIR matter, if they are not already before the apex court.

Further, the bench clarified that the claim form could be submitted with any of the 11 documents originally listed by the ECI, or with an Aadhaar card.

After concerns were raised that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were not issuing acknowledgement receipts for objections submitted by BLAs, the Supreme Court ordered: “Wherever physical forms are submitted, the BLOs shall acknowledge receipt.”

During the hearing, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the ECI, informed the top court that a compliance affidavit had been filed, stating that lists of voters excluded from the draft roll have been published on the websites as well as at Panchayat Bhavans, Block Development Offices, and Panchayat Officer offices across Bihar.

“The booth-wise list of about 65 lakh persons whose names do not appear in the draft electoral roll has been published on the website of all 38 District Election Officers (DEOs) in the state of Bihar, along with reasons for their non-inclusion in the draft electoral roll, i.e., whether it is on account of death, shifting of ordinary residence or duplicate entries,” said a status report filed by the poll body.

In a bid to “boost voter confidence”, the Supreme Court, in an interim order passed on August 14, had directed the poll body to upload district-wise data of about 65 lakh electors in poll-bound Bihar whose names were omitted in the draft electoral rolls following the initial phase of the SIR. The information uploaded on the websites of the District Electoral Officers and the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar should be searchable using EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) numbers, the bench of Justices Surya Kant and Bagchi had directed.

The bench said that the ECI would give wide publicity to the list uploaded on the official websites through newspapers, electronic, social media and other means of communication.

IANS