SC Orders ECI to Provide Final Bihar Electoral Roll Amid Duplicate Voter Concerns

Image Source: Internet

The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to provide the final revised electoral roll of Bihar, following concerns over duplicate names and lack of transparency in the voter addition process. The ECI had conducted a special intensive revision (SIR) in the state, which added nearly 21 lakh new voters to the rolls. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi expressed concerns over the presence of 1.75 crore duplicate voters in the state's voter rolls, which remain unrectified despite the SIR. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the Association for Democratic Reforms, pointed out that the ECI's own guidelines mandate the use of de-duplication software, but the discrepancies continue to exist. The court was also informed that show cause notices were issued to 26 lakh persons, but the grounds for deletion of 3.66 lakh voters are unclear due to the absence of a machine-readable format of the rolls. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal raised concerns over the addition of 52 lakh new voters without explanation, while the ECI claimed that these are narratives being set by political parties. The court has posted the matter for further hearing on December 9 and has asked the ECI to respond to the factual arguments made so far. The ECI had argued that the SIR is an extraordinary step to update the rolls, but the court has expressed concerns over the lack of transparency in the process. The Supreme Court's order comes as the ECI is undertaking similar exercises in 13 states and union territories, including Kerala, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, and Puducherry, which are pending consideration in the top court.