SC to hear plea to extend Sept 1 deadline for Bihar SIR claim filing

Advocate Nizam Pasha, appearing for the AIMIM, said time needs to be extended due to large scale filing of claims and objections

The Supreme Court on Friday agreed to hear a plea of the RJD on September 1 seeking an extension of time for filing claims and objections for voter registration in Bihar.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan mentioned the matter before a bench headed by Justice Surya Kant, seeking a one-week extension on the September 1 deadline.

Bhushan informed the bench that the RJD and a few other parties have filed applications seeking an extension of the September 1 deadline to file claims and objections regarding the draft voters' list.

The apex court was informed that parties want a one-week extension of the deadline, claiming that over 1,75,000 claims were made before and after the August 22 court order.

On August 22, the top court had ordered that persons excluded from the draft electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in poll-bound Bihar can submit their applications for inclusion through online mode and that physical submission of forms is not necessary.

It had been said that an individual, on their own or with the assistance of booth-level agents (BLAs) of a political party, is entitled to apply online and does not need to submit an application in physical form.

The bench had said all 12 political parties in Bihar shall issue specific directions to party workers to assist people in filing and submission of requisite forms with any 11 documents in Form 6 or the Aadhaar Card to get themselves included in the voters' list.

It had stated that BLAs of all political parties are directed to make an endeavour that approximately 65 lakh persons not included in the draft rolls are facilitated, except those who are dead or have voluntarily migrated, in submitting their objections by the cutoff date of September 1.

The top court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the poll panel's move to conduct SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar.

The Election Commission had also filed an affidavit stating that the list of names and details of 65 lakh electors in Bihar who were not included in the draft roll published on August 1 had been posted on the websites of all 38 District Electoral Officers in the state.

The list also contained the reasons for their non-inclusion, including death, shifting of ordinary residence or duplicate entries, ECI had told the apex court.

ECI had filed an affidavit in compliance with the August 14 directions of the Supreme Court directing it to publish an enumerated, booth-wise list of approximately 65 lakh electors not included in the draft electoral roll during the ongoing SIR exercise in poll-bound Bihar.

The petitions challenging the ECI decision were filed by RJD MP Manoj Jha, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), PUCL, activist Yogendra Yadav, Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, and former Bihar MLA Mujahid Alam.

The pleas sought direction to quash the ECI's June 24 directive that requires large sections of voters in Bihar to submit proof of citizenship to remain on the electoral rolls.

The petitions also raised concerns over the exclusion of widely held documents like Aadhaar and ration cards, stating that this would disproportionately affect the poor and marginalised voters, especially in rural Bihar.