New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday termed the controversy over the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar as “primarily a trust deficit issue” after the Election Commission of India (ECI) said that out of 7.9 crore voters, around 6.5 crore were not required to file any documents for themselves or their parents included in the 2003 electoral roll.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi is hearing multiple petitions challenging the ECI’s June 24 SIR order, which petitioners claim would deprive nearly one crore voters of their voting rights.
“If out of 7.9 crore voters, 7.24 crore responded to SIR, it breaks the principle of one crore voters missing or deprived of votes,” the bench told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for petitioner and RJD leader Manoj Jha.
The court also supported the ECI’s decision not to accept Aadhaar or voter cards as conclusive proof of citizenship, saying such claims should be backed by other documents.
Sibal argued that despite residents possessing Aadhaar, ration and EPIC cards, officials were refusing to accept them. To this, the bench asked, “Is it your contention that those who do not have any documents but are residing in Bihar should be treated as voters? This may be allowed, but he will have to submit certain documents.”
When Sibal pointed out that many residents were struggling to produce birth certificates or their parents’ records, Justice Kant remarked, “It is a very clear statement that no one in Bihar has documents. If this happens in Bihar, what will happen in other parts of the country?”
