The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed the Election Commission of India to continue the special intensive revision (SIR) of voter lists in Bihar and called it a “constitutional mandate”.
A bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, however, questioned the time of the process and prima facie the opinion that Aadhaar card, voter ID card and ration card can be considered during SIR in Bihar.
It states, “Prima facie it is the opinion that Aadhaar card, voter ID card and ration card should be allowed to be included in special intensive revision of the voter list.”
The bench noted that no petitioner, including leaders of 10 opposition parties, have not demanded an interim ban on the process of the Election Commission. The bench sought an answer on the petitions and adjourned the hearing for 28 July.
The bench said that the Election Commission of India should file a counter affidavit on the petitions by July 21 and file a response by 28 July.
The bench said that it is not doubting the credibility and honesty of the Election Commission in doing this process, which is a constitutional obligation, but the time of the process is creating doubt.
The bench told senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Election Commission, “We do not doubt your honesty, but there are perceptions. We are not thinking about stopping you, because it is a constitutional mandate.”
Dwivedi said that 60 percent of the voters have verified their identity cards and assured the court that no voter’s name would be removed from the voter list without hearing them.
The bench said, “We cannot stop any constitutional institution from doing what he should do. Also, we will not let them do what they should not do.”
Earlier, during the day, the bench questioned the Election Commission on the time of the SIR campaign in the election state of Bihar and said that it goes to the root of democracy and voting power. At the same time, the bench rejected the argument that the Election Commission has no right to implement it.
The Election Commission of India also justified the process and said that the base is not “evidence of citizenship”.
The bench questioned Dwivedi for not including the Aadhaar card in the SIR campaign in Bihar and said that the Election Commission has nothing to do with the citizenship of any person and it is the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Dwivedi, citing Article 326 of the Constitution, said that every voter should be an Indian citizen and “Aadhaar card is not a proof of citizenship”.
Justice Dhulia said, “If you have to examine citizenship under the SIR of the voter list in Bihar, you should have already taken action; it is a little late.” Meanwhile, the bench dismissed the plea of the petitioners’ counsel that the Election Commission did not have the right to conduct any such investigation in Bihar as it is mandatory under the Constitution and the last such investigation was done in 2003.
Referring to the pleas of the petitioners, the bench said that the Election Commission would have to answer three questions, as the SIR process in Bihar goes to “the root of democracy and power to vote”.
Apart from political parties and their leaders, questions of petitioners, including members of civil society and organizations, are related to the power of the Election Commission of India and its time to take such action.
Dwivedi said that over time the voter list requires amendment to include or remove voters’ names, in which SIR is one such task.
He asked that if the Election Commission does not have the right to amend the voter list, then who has it. However, the Election Commission assured the apex court that it would not out of the voter list without giving any person a hearing opportunity.
Initially on behalf of the NGO ‘Association for Democratic Reforms’, senior advocate Gopal Shankaranarayanan said that permission to amend the voter list can be given under the Representation of the Public Representation Act.
He said that the entire SIR will cover about 7.9 crore citizens, and even voter ID cards and Aadhaar cards are not being considered. More than 10 petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court, including a petition of the major petitioner NGO ‘Association for Democratic Reforms’.
RJD MP Manoj Jha and Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, KC Venugopal of Congress, NCP (SP) leader Supriya Sule, CPI leader D Raja, Harinder Singh Malik of Samajwadi Party, Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Arvind Sawant, Sarfaraz Ahmed and JMM’s Sarfaraz Ahmed and Dipankar Bhattacharya of CPI (Mal) also demanding the cancellation of the Election Commission. Top court has moved.
