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'Will set aside entire exercise if…': Supreme Court's big warning to EC over Bihar SIR drive
SC made it clear that it cannot give a piecemeal opinion on the Bihar SIR, adding that its final verdict would apply to SIR exercises conducted across India.
The Supreme Court on Monday said that if any illegality is found in the methodology adopted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in poll-bound Bihar, the entire process could be set aside.
The bench made it clear that it cannot give a piecemeal opinion on the Bihar SIR, adding that its final verdict would apply to SIR exercises conducted across India, not just in Bihar.
While hearing the matter, the court also noted that it presumes the ECI, as a constitutional authority, is following the law and mandatory rules in carrying out the SIR process.
Also Read | Yes SIR or no? Bihar electoral roll revision row explained in 10 simple points
The Supreme Court fixed October 7 for hearing final arguments on validity of SIR exercise in Bihar.
The Supreme Court last Monday (September 8) ordered that Aadhaar must be accepted as the twelfth valid document for inclusion in Bihar’s electoral rolls during the ongoing SIR, intervening after complaints that election officials were refusing to recognise it despite earlier directions.
A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi turned down the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) reservations against formally adding Aadhaar to its list of approved identity proofs, stressing that while the document cannot establish citizenship, it remains a valid indicator of identity and residence.
The hearing over Election Commission’s SIR drive stems from concerns have raised by opposition parties about the deletion of genuine voters' names, allegedly without proper verification.
Opposition has alleged that the SIR exercise is an unfair clean-up as the 11 documents required for addition of name to the electoral roll does not include Aadhaar, which is a commonly held document as opposed to others.
The EC on August 18 released the names of 65 lakh people who were removed from the draft electoral rolls published as part of the SIR exercise.
