Excluded Bihar voters can submit online claims with Aadhaar or 11 other documents: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday directed the Election Commission to accept online applications, supported by requisite documents or an Aadhaar card number, from those excluded from the draft electoral rolls during the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) in poll-bound Bihar.

A Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi clarified that the physical submission of forms or objections was not necessary, saying any of the 11 documents mentioned in the Election Commission’s notification or an Aadhaar card number could be submitted with inclusion applications. The Bench added that wherever physical forms were submitted, booth-level officers must acknowledge them.

The court also asked political parties to assist people excluded from the draft electoral rolls. Hearing petitions challenging the EC’s June 24 notification on the SIR, the Bench expressed surprise that despite Bihar having over 1.68 lakh booth-level agents (BLAs) appointed by political parties, the EC reported that only two objections had been filed.

“We are surprised at the inaction of political parties. After appointing BLAs, what are they doing? Why this distance between political workers and the local people?” it wondered even as petitioners complained that BLAs were not being permitted to submit their objections.

The Bench issued notices to 12 registered political parties, formally making them parties to the case. It directed these recognised parties to issue specific instructions to their BLAs to assist voters, except those deceased, in submitting the requisite form and documents to get their names reinstated on the voters’ list. The court asked the political parties to file status reports on the claim forms they facilitated and posted the matter for further hearing on September 8.

Representing the EC, senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi said the EC had complied with the court's order “in letter and spirit” and that any voter wrongly excluded could apply for re-inclusion and correction with supporting documents. He noted that not a single political party had filed an objection and said it was the duty of political parties to aid the EC.

“There are 1.6 lakh BLAs and if each verifies 10 claims, it should be over in 5-6 days… Crores of people have been filing documents... Please wait and see. Repose some trust on the EC…not one voter will fall through the cracks,” Dwivedi submitted, seeking more time before any further directions were issued.

Petitioners’ counsel, including senior advocates Kapil Sibal, AM Singhvi, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Prashant Bhushan and Vrinda Grover, argued that many people were unaware of the process. They pointed out that the EC was asking excluded people to file Form 6 for a fresh entry with a declaration and Aadhaar, creating difficulties for migrant workers outside Bihar and those affected by floods in the state.

On August 1, the EC published the “draft electoral rolls” for Bihar, enlisting 7.24 crore voters. The final electoral roll is scheduled for publication on September 30.

Of the 65 lakh voters removed from the draft rolls, the EC stated that 22.34 lakh were dead, 36.28 lakh had permanently shifted or were absent, and 7.01 lakh were enrolled in more than one place. The Election Commission claimed that roughly 6.5 crore people from the total 7.9 crore voting population did not need to file any documents for themselves or their parents who were featured in the 2003 electoral rolls.