SIR row: SC seeks Election Commission's clarification on final lists in Bihar

The Supreme Court on Tuesday orally remarked that every voter has a right to appeal against their exclusion from the electoral rolls, while expressing concern over the "confusion" surrounding large-scale deletions and additions during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voters in poll-bound Bihar.

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After the apex court was informed that several names had been omitted from the electoral list without communication of the order, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said: "If anyone can give us a list that out of these 3.66 lakh voters, these are the people to whom orders have not been communicated, we'll direct the Election Commission to communicate. Each individual has a right to appeal.”

The Justice Surya Kant-led Bench noted the submission that while 65 lakh names were initially deleted from the draft voters’ list, around 21 lakh were later added to the final rolls.

However, it remained unclear whether these additions were previously deleted voters or entirely new entries.

The apex court remarked that the Election Commission has both the draft list and the final list and that the deleted names were clearly identifiable, as it called for a greater clarity to fortify public confidence in the electoral process.