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The Supreme Court on Thursday posted for hearing on November 4 a batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India's (ECI) decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.
During the hearing, the petitioners argued that the poll panel must publish separate lists of voters who were deleted and those who were newly added. The apex court observed that the poll panel is aware of its responsibility to disclose the voter data upon completion of the recently concluded SIR. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for one of the petitioners, said, "Elections are imminent now and this Court can't do much to change the list, but at least the list and deletions should be published." A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymlaya Bagchi took note of the concern and observed that the Election Commission is well aware of its responsibility to publish the final voter rolls, including the changes made during the SIR process. "They (ECI) know their responsibility and after doing addition and deletion, they are bound to publish it and the matter is not closed," the Bench said, indicating the Court would continue monitoring the issue. The bench observed as the poll panel said it would publish the data. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing ECI, said that for the first phase of elections, October 17 is the last date for filing nominations, and the list will be frozen as of that date. For the second phase, October 20 is the last date for nominations, and hence, the time is available till then, he added. Dwivedi also stated that the poll panel has not received any appeals against deletions, despite the top court's order ensuring the availability of free legal aid for voters, as per the order passed last week. Bihar Assembly elections are scheduled to be held in two phases, on November 6 and November 11, with the counting of votes to take place on November 14. (ANI)
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