SIR claims can be filed after Sept 1, EC tells SC

The Supreme Court on Monday noted the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) statement that although the statutory deadline for claims in Bihar’s ongoing electoral roll revision formally ended on September 1, applications for inclusion, deletion and correction could continue to be made and would be integrated into the rolls up to the last date of nominations.

- Utkarsh Anand

A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi also recorded a submission made by ECI through senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi that claims and objections can be submitted even after the deadline of September 1 and that they will be considered after the electoral roll has been finalised.

"In light of this stand, let the filing of the claims/objections/corrections continue," stated the bench, even as it did not formally extend the September 1 deadline by two weeks, as pressed by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in its plea.

The court also directed deployment of paralegal volunteers to bridge the gap in voter assistance. It requested the executive chairman of the Bihar State Legal Services Authority to issue directions by September 2 to notify paralegal volunteers at the district level, complete with names and mobile numbers, to help voters and parties file claims or objections online.

These volunteers will route their reports through district judges, who will compile the data for the state legal services authority.

The RJD, in its application, asked the court to direct ECI to extend the claims period by two weeks, till September 15, citing the sharp rise in applications from excluded voters.