Bihar SIR: SC Directs ECI to Accept Online Claims for Voter List Inclusion

New Delhi — In a major relief for those left out of the draft electoral roll after the first phase of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to accept claim forms online without insisting on physical submission of documents.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi passed the order while hearing pleas challenging the ECI’s June 26 notification for the SIR in Bihar.

The court asked political parties and their booth-level agents (BLAs) to help voters whose names were omitted because they could not submit enumeration forms on time. It also directed that the 12 recognised political parties in Bihar be impleaded in the matter, if not already before the court.

The bench clarified that claim forms may be submitted with any of the 11 documents listed earlier by the ECI, or with an Aadhaar card.

Addressing complaints that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were not giving receipts for objections filed by BLAs, the court ordered: “Wherever physical forms are submitted, the BLOs shall acknowledge receipt.”

During the hearing, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the ECI, said a compliance affidavit had been filed, confirming that lists of excluded voters have been published online and displayed at Panchayat Bhavans, Block Development Offices, and Panchayat offices across Bihar.

According to the ECI’s status report, booth-wise lists of nearly 65 lakh excluded names have been uploaded on the websites of all 38 District Election Officers (DEOs), with reasons for exclusion such as death, change of residence, or duplicate entries.

Earlier, on August 14, the Supreme Court had issued an interim order directing the ECI to upload district-wise data of the 65 lakh excluded voters and make the information searchable by EPIC (Electors Photo Identity Card) number. The court had also instructed that the data be widely publicised through newspapers, electronic and social media, and other communication channels to “boost voter confidence.”

With inputs from IANS