In a significant observation, the Supreme Court on Tuesday said that everyone has a right to appeal against their exclusion from the voters list prepared as part of the recently-concluded Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymlaya Bagchi, however, added that the Court cannot devise a solution if it is kept in dark about the people whose names have been deleted without communication of the order to them."If anyone can give us a list that out of these 3.66 lakh voters these are the people to whom orders have not been communicated. We’ll direct them [Election Commission of India] to communicate. Each individual has a right to appeal," the Court remarked.
Pertinently, the Court also took note of the petitioners' argument that while 21 lakh voters were added to the final voters' list after around 65 lakh were deleted from the initial draft list, it is not clear whether the ones added back were the ones initially removed or whether they were new names."There was a 65 lakh deletion which you (Election Commission of India) have published. We said that whoever is dead or moved already but we said if you have deleted someone please put up their data in your district electoral offices. Now from the draft you have got the final list. Final list appears to be an appreciation of numbers. It has gone up from 65. Now there is a confusion. What is the identity of this add on. Is it an add on of the deleted names or add on of independent new names," the Court asked.
The counsel representing the ECI said most of them are new voters. The Bench said that the ECI can place the data regarding the same before the Court."You have got the draft list, you have got the final list. The omission is clear. So just call that out and place it before us," said Justice Bagchi.Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioners, also weighed in and said that the ECI can do it easily while it will be difficult for each affected individual to come before the Court.
"There are both additions and deletions. We have to match it with the original list. First 66 lakh were deleted. And how many new people who were not there in the original list have been added. It is very difficult for us to but election commission can do this in one button. But they are not doing it. All these people cannot come to the Supreme Court," he contended.
"The persons who are deleted 3.66 lakh nobody gets a notice. Nobody gets a reason. There is an appellate provision but there is no question of appeal because there is no information," Senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing one of the petitioners, said.
The Court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Bihar SIR. It was earlier informed that 65 lakh names were dropped from the draft electoral roll published on August 1.
During the hearing today, advocate Prashant Bhushan, also appearing on the petitioners side, said the data regarding the deletions and additions should be uploaded on website. He also said that psephologist and activist Yogendra Yadav can provide an overview to the Court. Justice Bagchi said he can file an affidavit.Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for ECI, in response said that every person who was deleted has been given the order.
Bhushan said the affidavit will be filed. However, he also said that all the affected people cannot approach the Supreme Court.
"We will file the affidavit. At this, Justice Kant said,"The question of probing so much will arise when the are some genuine people. At least 100-200 people saying that they want to file an appeal but no order has come to them."The matter will be heard next on October 9 when the petitioners are expected to file an affidavit giving further details of deletions.
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