AIMIM MLA ARGUES SIR TARGETS ANTI-INCUMBENCY; SPECIAL REVISIONS HAVE TO BE CONTAINED, RESTRAINED SAYS PETITIONER'S COUNSEL

Supreme Court on Wednesday said that SIR is a battle between the Election Commission's power, and the citizens' right to vote

- ► KALIDAS NEWDELHI

The Supreme Court is continuing on Thursday (August 14, 2025) its hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.

In the previous hearing, Justice Joymalya Bagchi summarised the petitioners’ argument that it was a battle between Constitutional entitlement and Constitutional right. The petitioners argued that the Election Commission did not have the right to decide on citizenship, nor de facto remove an elector for the list.

The draft roll was published on August 1, with the final list scheduled for release on September 30, amid Opposition allegations that the exercise will disenfranchise crores of eligible voters.

Justice Kant notes the information can be put on the websites of State, District and sub-divisional level EC officers.

Give an enumerated list of persons deleted from draft roll and specifying reasons... why dont you do that, asks Justice Bagchi

If you don't give an enumerated list of persons deleted, even inadvertent errors would not be corrected before final list because the person concerned would not know, he adds.

High degree of transparency is required to inspire voter confidence. Why don't you put up the names of deleted electors with reasons out there in the public domain for all to see?

Justice Kant says there is a narrative that family members do not know that their kin have been deleted as dead in the draft roll.