The Supreme Court on Thursday instructed the Election Commission (EC) to post the names of 65 lakh individuals deleted from Bihar's electoral roll on its own websites, along with the reasons for their removal, by Tuesday. The court stressed that the list should be publicized extensively so that every voter can easily access it.
The court, in a landmark judgment, also permitted those whose names were inappropriately withdrawn to file claims along with a photocopy of their Aadhaar cards. This responds to concerns expressed in petitions against the Special Intensive Revision, which had pointed to the removal of Aadhaar as an acceptable proof and cautioned that it could disenfranchise a large number of voters.
As he was hearing the petitions, Justice Surya Kant pointed out that the EC had indicated 22 lakh of the 65 lakh deleted voters had passed away. "If 22 lakh individuals have passed away, why isn't it revealed at the booth level? We don't want citizens' rights to be linked with political parties," he added.
The bench directed the following interim actions: the roll of 65 lakh voters deleted from the draft roll shall be put on district websites, indicating the reason for deletion. "Wide publicity shall be accorded through vernacular newspapers having maximum circulation, and it shall be broadcast on Doordarshan and other networks. District election officers having social media handles shall also post the notice," the order stated.
Justice Kant further said, "Aggrieved individuals can file their complaints along with a photocopy of their Aadhaar cards. Moreover, booth-wise 65 lakh voters list shall be exhibited on the notice boards at all panchayat bhawans and Block Development and Panchayat offices to facilitate manual access."
The EC explained that apart from the roll of dead voters, lists of voters who have irrevocably migrated or whose status was changed by BLOs after July 20 must also be incorporated. The voters not included must be searchable on the draft roll by EPIC numbers and booth-wise details on DEO and CEO websites.
"The aggrieved are only those who are outside the draft list (65 lakh), and they can make claims through Form 6, which also has Aadhaar details," the Commission further added.
At the hearing, Justice Joymalya Bagchi inquired about how many names were left out of the draft list following the Special Intensive Revision. The EC was represented by Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, who stated, "65 lakh are not there; 22 lakh are dead." He emphasized that the names were not intentionally excised and that any person who is alive and whose name was erroneously deleted on grounds of death can approach officials with a view to correcting it.
Justice Bagchi demanded more transparency, "Instead of this, put the whole dataset on the website." Justice Kant chimed in, "Political workers might have ideologies, but people should be able to independently verify their names online.
The bench instructed the entire dataset be placed online and searchable by EPIC number so that voters such as Anita Devi can check whether they are included. The case is hearing again next on August 22.
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