Bihar SIR: Supreme Court Refuses to Extend Deadline for Claim Submissions

New Delhi – The Supreme Court on Monday refused to extend the September 1 deadline fixed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for filing claims and objections to the draft electoral rolls in Bihar, prepared after the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

The decision came after the ECI assured the apex court that objections submitted after September 1 but before the last date of nominations would still be taken into account for inclusion in the voters’ list.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi was hearing petitions filed by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and other political parties seeking more time for claim submissions.

In its order, the bench noted: “The process of consideration of claims will continue till the last date of nominations. Let the claims/objections be continued to be filed.”

The court further directed the Bihar State Legal Services Authority to deploy para-legal volunteers (PLVs) to assist voters and political parties in filing online claims, objections, or corrections. These PLVs will submit confidential reports to their respective District Legal Services Authorities, which will then be consolidated at the state level for review by the top court.

According to the ECI, the draft rolls published on August 1 are being scrutinized through claims and objections filed by political parties, electors, and Booth Level Agents (BLAs). So far, 33,326 claims for inclusion and 2,07,565 objections for exclusion have been received, with 38,342 already disposed of.

The poll body also reported that more than 15.32 lakh new electors aged 18 and above have applied via Form-6, with 81,073 cases processed within a week.

The main set of petitions challenging the SIR process, which began on June 24, is scheduled for hearing on September 8.

WIth inputs from IANS