New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, refused to interfere with the publication of the draft revised electoral roll for Bihar by the Election Commission of India (ECI) on August 1, but observed that it would step in if there is ‘mass exclusion’ of voters as alleged by the petitioners.
While scheduling the final hearing of the matter for August 12 and 13, the bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi addressed petitioners’ fears that approximately 65 lakh voters who have not submitted enumeration forms could be dropped from the rolls.
“We are overviewing the thing as a judicial authority,” Justice Bagchi assured. “If there is mass exclusion, we will immediately step in. Bring 15 people saying they are alive.”
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) highlighted that the 65 lakh individuals – who the ECI says are either deceased or have permanently migrated – would now have to apply afresh. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing RJD MP Manoj Jha, added that the petitioners would have “no problem” if the ECI included the names of these 65 lakh individuals in the draft list, allowing for objections later.
Justice Kant then assured the petitioners, “If the draft list is conspicuously silent [on these names], you will bring it to our notice. We are here, we will hear you.”
On Monday, the Apex Court had urged ECI to adopt a policy of ‘mass inclusion’ rather than ‘en masse exclusion’. The bench had also recommended that the ECI accept Aadhaar and the Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) as proof, noting that they carry a “presumption of correctness.”
The court had declined to stay the publication of the August 1 draft list though, stating it could quash the entire process later if any illegality was proven.