'Why So Late?': Supreme Court Questions Bihar Electoral Rolls Revision

SC said there is nothing wrong in Bihar electoral rolls revision exercise, but it should have been done months before the ensuing election.

SC said there is nothing wrong in SIR exercise, but it should have been done months before the ensuing election.

Source : PTI

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission of India why it started the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of electoral rolls in Bihar so late. The apex court said there is nothing wrong with the SIR exercise, but it should have been done months before the ensuing election.

"If you are to check citizenship under the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, then you should have acted early; it is a bit late," the court told the Election Commission.

The Supreme Court on Wednesday began hearing a clutch of petitions challenging the Election Commission's proposed Sample Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, a move that has drawn fire from opposition parties and civil society groups.

The matter is currently being heard by a Partial Working Day (PWD) bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi.

EC Flags Preliminary Objections

At the outset, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Election Commission, told the bench that he had preliminary objections to the maintainability of the petitions. He is being joined by senior advocates KK Venugopal and Maninder Singh, also appearing on behalf of the poll panel.

The EC has not yet elaborated on the full scope of its objections, but it has maintained that the Sample Intensive Revision process is within legal bounds.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for one of the petitioners, submitted before the court that the revision of electoral rolls is allowed under the Representation of People Act. He further highlighted that the SIR will impact around 7.9 crore citizens, and added that “even the voter ID and Aadhaar cards are not being considered” in the process.