'Will scrap entire Bihar SIR exercise if...': SC warns ECI
'Will scrap entire Bihar SIR exercise if...': SC warns ECI
The Supreme Court has warned the Election Commission of India (ECI) that it will set aside the entire Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bihar if any illegality is found in its methodology.
The court said it cannot give a piecemeal opinion on the matter, adding that its final verdict will apply to SIR exercises across India.
The bench, comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, has scheduled October 7 for hearing final arguments.
Aadhaar should be accepted as valid document: SC
Last Monday, the Supreme Court ruled that Aadhaar should be accepted as the 12th valid document in order to be included in the final electoral roll during the SIR in Bihar.
The court rejected ECI's objections to formally adding Aadhaar to its list of approved identity proofs, clarifying that while Aadhaar can't prove citizenship, it remains a valid indicator of identity and residence.
EC officials not accepting Aadhaar cards: Complaints
A bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the order after petitions from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and others, who argued that ECI officials were not accepting Aadhaar cards despite earlier court orders.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, representing RJD, argued that without clear instructions from the ECI, earlier Supreme Court orders were not being implemented.
He stressed the importance of including Aadhaar in the process to avoid excluding underprivileged sections of society.
Opposition alleges unfair clean-up in voter list
The opposition has alleged that the SIR exercise is an unfair clean-up, as Aadhaar was not included in the 11 documents required for adding names to electoral rolls.
On August 6, the court was informed that 65 lakh names were dropped from the draft Bihar electoral roll published on August 1.
The following week, on August 14, the court directed the ECI to upload online details of voters proposed for deletion during SIR in Bihar.