The Supreme Court on Wednesday described the special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of the voter list in Bihar as a voter-interest. The court said that the number of documents valid for identification in this process has been increased from 7 to 11, which gives more options to voters. The court dismissed the objections related to Aadhaar and said that this expansion of documents makes the process more inclusive than excluding someone.
During the hearing, the court also questioned that if any calculation form incorporates legal form, will it be a violation of the rules or will it be considered a more widespread compliance.
Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, appearing on behalf of the petitioners, accused the Election Commission of changing the stand in the case of citizenship proof. He said that the Election Commission has completely overturned on citizenship proof. A person can object only when he feels that there is no citizen, then ERO will issue notice. In such a situation, how will all major decisions be done in two months? Start SIR from December and complete in a year, no one will resist.
Singhvi said that under Form-6, Aadhaar card is still a valid document for adding names. He said that earlier it was assumed that everyone would be excluded, until they prove their rights, but now this thinking has been changed. He warned that those whose names have been added between 2003 and 2025 can also be excluded, if they could not provide evidence.
Singhvi questioned the time of this process and said that SIR was just one year before the 2003 parliamentary election. Then why is it being started in Bihar in July? Why not from Arunachal Pradesh, where elections are in 2026? Or why not from Lakshadweep, where elections are in 2028?
Let us know that SIR is the first major revision of the voter list after 2003. Its purpose is to correct the voter list before the assembly elections to be held in Bihar in October-November. The Election Commission has started the process of removing ineligible voters including non-citizens, starting from Bihar.
Under this process, voters who are not included in the list of 2003 will have to submit proof of birthplace and self-declaration letter of citizenship. Critics say that citizenship evidence is not mandatory in Form-6, due to which non-citizens are expected to be involved.
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