‘Aadhaar not proof of citizenship, SIR in Bihar to continue’: SC affirms EC’s power to revise voter rolls, rejects mass disenfranchisement claim
The Supreme Court on Tuesday (12th August) agreed with the Election Commission of India (ECI) in holding that the Aadhaar Card is not conclusive proof of citizenship. The observation was made by a bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi during the hearing of a batch of petitions filed against the ECI’s June 24 directive of holding a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls ahead of upcoming State assembly elections. The top court also acknowledged that the ECI is empowered to include or exclude citizens and non-citizens from the voter list.
SC terms petitioners’ challenge to SIR as a case of trust deficiency
The Court did not accept the submission of the petitioners, who claimed that the SIR in Bihar would result in disenfranchisement of lakhs of voters, as they are poor and do not have the necessary documents. “This is a case of trust deficiency that’s all,” Justice Kant stated during the hearing. Terming the petitioners’ claims as a ‘sweeping argument’, the bench said, “But something will be needed to see whether they are resident or not. There are family registers, pension cards, etc, a very sweeping argument to say that people do not have these documents”.
The court addressed the apprehensions of the petitioners that the SIR exercise could result in people being declared invalid based on a presumption, and assured that it will take care of that. “If they do so, we will adjudicate the same…Are we going to explain to everyone that if we find something suspicious, can’t we include all of them in the 2025 list…into the roll?” Justice Kant said.
ECI assures fair procedure during SIR
The Supreme Court sought the response of the ECI on 6th August after it was informed that around 65 lakh fake or duplicate names had been excluded from the voter list during the SIR in Bihar. A plea was moved in the Supreme Court seeking directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to disclose details of 65 lakh names that have been deleted from electoral rolls. Responding to the plea, the ECI assured the court that no name will be removed from the draft electoral roll in Bihar without prior notice, an opportunity to be heard and a reasoned order from the competent authority.
The court also rejected the petitioners’ claim that the SIR would result in the mass exclusion of voters. Mass exclusion will depend on facts and figures,” the bench said.
Several opposition leaders and organisation challeneged the SIR
The petitioners, including several opposition leaders and organisations like TMC MP Mahua Moitra, former AAP co-founder Yogendra Yadav, RJD MP Manoj Jha, and Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), were represented by the likes of senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Prashant Bhushan, and Abhishek Manu Singhvi.
Several petitions were filed before the Supreme Court seeking a stay on the SIR exercise in Bihar on the grounds that the identification process laid down by the ECI shifted the burden of proof onto citizens and that, considering the high rates of migration and poverty in the state, the requirement of documents specified by the ECI might disenfranchise millions of voters. The petitioners also challenged the exclusion of the Aadhaar card from the ECI’s list of documents required as proof of citizenship to be enumerated as a voter. However, the Supreme Court had refused to put a stay on the exercise, saying that it was a routine exercise, which the Election Commission is competent to conduct.
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