The Supreme Court has told the Election Commission of India to make sure the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists in Bihar is easy and helpful for voters. This order was given during a court hearing about a case related to removing voters' names from the list, a process that has been criticised by some political parties.
The top court said that people can use their Aadhaar card or one of the 11 other approved documents to file claims for deleted voters. The court's order is meant to make things easier and respond to worries from the opposition parties. They pointed out that the list of acceptable documents didn't include the Aadhaar card before, even though it's a common form of ID.
According to national media the Supreme Court of India has ordered, which stated, “…to issue specific directions to BLAs [booth level agents] to assist voters for submission of requisite forms alongwith any of the 11 documents OR Aadhaar card. In order to facilitate the voters, all above-mentioned political parties to be impleaded as respondents.” The court's decision highlights the importance of making the process accessible and inclusive for all eligible voters.
In a further effort to streamline the process, the Supreme Court permitted the online submission of claims by deleted voters, allowing them to use their Aadhaar card or other valid documents. The court also expressed its surprise at the lack of engagement from political parties in the correction of names during the SIR exercise.
The court heard that the ECI mentioned 85,000 new voters have registered during the Bihar SIR, but so far only two complaints have been raised by agents working at the polling booths on behalf of political parties. The court's comments highlight the importance of political parties being more active in helping their supporters go through the revision process.
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The disagreement comes from the ECI's continued work on revising voter lists in Bihar, and opposition groups say this process has caused real voters' names to be taken off without enough checks. One important issue has been the list of 11 documents needed to add names, which at first didn't include the Aadhaar card. Opposition parties say this rule is not fair because the Aadhaar card is a document that most people already have, unlike some of the other documents mentioned.
On August 18, the ECI released the names of 65 lakh people who were removed from the draft electoral rolls as part of the SIR exercise. This action came after a command from the Supreme Court, which told the ECI to list the names of voters who were removed by August 19 and to give a report showing they followed the rules by August 22.
The ECI has published the names of 'ASD' voters, who are absent, changed their shift, or are deceased, both at the polling stations and online, as ordered by the supreme court. The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar has shared that the ASD lists are now posted at polling booths in several districts such as Rohtas, Begusarai, Arwal, Siwan, Bhojpur, Jehanabad, Lakhisarai, Banka, Darbhanga, and Purnea.
Also Read: Supreme Court backs EC on Aadhar
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