New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Monday, warned that it would cancel the entire Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar if any illegality is detected in the methodology adopted by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that is hearing several petitions against the process, said that the Court presumed that ECI – being a constitutional authority – had followed the law and mandatory rules in the conduct of the SIR.
The Court refused to give any piecemeal opinion on the issue, making it clear that its final verdict would have pan-India implications for the SIR exercise. It fixed October 7 for hearing final arguments on the validity of the SIR exercise in Bihar.
On September 8, the Court had directed that Aadhaar be treated as the twelfth valid document for inclusion in Bihar’s electoral rolls during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision. The order came after complaints that election officials were refusing to accept it despite earlier instructions.
The Bench had, however, made it clear that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship but establishes proof of identity and residence. It said that the ECI can take steps to verify the Aadhaar Card’s authenticity.
On August 18, the ECI published a draft voters list that excluded 65 lakh names.
The poll panel has also rebuked the Opposition over its “vote chori” (vote theft) allegation and accused political parties of misleading voters while shifting blame onto the poll body.
Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar has also asked Congress MP and Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi to either file an affidavit with evidence or issue a public apology for his allegations against the poll panel.