Supreme Court Resumes Hearing on Pleas Against Bihar’s EC SIR Exercise

Quick Summary:

• The Supreme Court of India is hearing a series of pleas challenging the Election Commission’s June 24 decision to conduct Special Intensive Revision (SIR) for electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.
• Political parties, including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and AIMIM, expressed concerns over potential voter disenfranchisement through the SIR process.
• Opposition highlights thin vote margins in the 2020 Assembly elections as justification for their apprehensions about voter deletions in the current exercise. RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav stated that removal of just 1% of voters could impact results in approximately 35 constituencies out of a total of 243 seats.
• The Election Commission clarified that claims, objections, and corrections to draft electoral rolls can be filed beyond September 1 but will only be considered after finalization on September 30 or later during nomination phases before polls begin.
• As per ECI data, ninety-nine percent (99%) eligibility documentation compliance has been recorded among seven crore plus electors listed in Bihar’s draft rolls.

Indian Opinion analysis:
The ongoing judicial review by the Supreme court regarding Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision underscores how critically electoral roll management impacts democratic processes and trust around free elections. While the Election Commission assures mechanisms to safeguard eligible voters’ inclusion even beyond deadlines, political parties have flagged concerns about uneven deletions disproportionately affecting slim-margin seats-a valid worry considering historical voting outcomes like those by margins as narrow as twelve votes.

This case holds implications not only for openness and fairness but sets precedence on how intensive revisions are executed nationally during election years amidst procedural complexities.Ensuring credible participation while balancing administrative efficiency appears key for broader public confidence regardless partisan leanings surrounding heightened scrutiny toward states pivotal assembly rollout links future actions roadmap clarity.

Read more