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The Supreme Court on Tuesday began hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India's (ECI) decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar and observed that the poll panel was right in stating that an Aadhaar card is not conclusive proof of citizenship.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi also remarked that the inclusion and exclusion of citizens and non-citizens from the electoral rolls falls within the remit of the ECI. During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, told the bench that the exclusion of about 65 lakh voters from the draft electoral roll published on August 1, without any objection to their inclusion, is illegal. To this, the bench said that as per the Rules, the persons excluded have to submit applications for inclusion, and it is only at this stage that anyone's objection will be considered. The apex court also did not agree with the submission that the people in Bihar do not have the majority of documents sought by the ECI as proof during the SIR. Justice Kant said, "Bihar is part of India. If they don't have them, other states won't either." Responding to Sibal's contention that a very limited section of people possess documents such as birth certificates, matriculation certificates, and passports, Justice Kant said, "There must be something to prove you are a citizen of India... everybody possesses some certificate... You need it even to buy a SIM. OBC, SC, ST certificates... It is a very sweeping argument that in Bihar, nobody possesses these documents." Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, also representing one of the petitioners, submitted that the removal of voters from the list on the ground of lack of citizenship must be through a due process, which is not possible just three to four months ahead of assembly elections. Political activist Yogendra Yadav, appearing in person, told the bench that mass disenfranchisement has already taken place, with the exclusion of 65 lakh voters. He also produced two persons from Bihar before the court and said they were deleted from the draft roll, saying they are dead and they have voter ID cards. The arguments in the case will continue tomorrow also. The petitions challenging the ECI decision were filed by RJD MP Manoj Jha, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), PUCL, activist Yogendra Yadav, Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, and former Bihar MLA Mujahid Alam. The petitions sought direction to quash the ECI's June 24 directive that requires large sections of voters in Bihar to submit proof of citizenship to remain on the electoral rolls. The petitions also raised concerns over the exclusion of widely held documents like Aadhaar and ration cards, stating that this would disproportionately affect the poor and marginalised voters, especially in rural Bihar. (ANI)
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