Supreme Court Allows Online Applications for 65 Lakh Voters Excluded in Bihar Rolls

The Supreme Court on Friday directed that persons excluded from the draft electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in poll-bound Bihar can submit applications for inclusion online, with physical submission of forms no longer mandatory.

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A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said individual applicants, either themselves or with the assistance of booth-level agents (BLAs) of political parties, are entitled to apply online for enrolment. The court instructed the 12 recognised political parties in Bihar to direct their BLAs to help voters in filing applications with requisite documents, including Aadhaar or any 11 valid proofs under Form 6.

The bench expressed surprise that out of nearly 1.6 lakh BLAs in Bihar, only two objections had been filed so far. It directed that efforts be made to facilitate the inclusion of approximately 65 lakh voters excluded from the draft rolls, barring those who are deceased or have voluntarily migrated, before the cut-off date of September 1.