Supreme Court refuses to stay publication of draft electoral rolls in Bihar

Supreme Court allows ECI to continue using Aadhaar and voter ID as identity proof for roll revision in Bihar, says these documents have some sanctity

The Supreme Court on Monday refused to stay the publication of draft electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, while directing the Election Commission of India (ECI) to continue accepting Aadhaar and voter cards as valid identity proofs for the special intensive revision (SIR) in the state as they have “some sanctity”.

 

“As far as ration cards are concerned, we can say they can be forged easily, but Aadhaar and voter cards have some sanctity and have a presumption of genuineness. You continue accepting these documents,” the bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said.

 

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the petitioners, said the electoral rolls should not be finalised in the interim. The bench, however, observed that the petitioners had not requested interim relief in the last hearing and, therefore, it could not be granted now.

 

The court said it would take the final decision after hearing all the parties in the case on Tuesday. ECI can deal with cases of forgery on a case-to-case basis, as any document can be forged, the apex court remarked.

 

The court had, on July 10, told the ECI to consider the Aadhaar card, voter identity card, and ration card as acceptable documents for the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the Assembly election. The court also clarified that its direction does not mean that ECI has to include anyone's name in the roll solely based on these documents. 

 

“We have noted that, anyway, you have said your list is not exhaustive. If you have a good reason to discard Aadhar, you do it, give reasons,” the court said.

 

In a counter affidavit, the ECI had said that Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration card cannot be considered as proof of voter eligibility under the ongoing exercise of electoral rolls in Bihar. The EC said these three documents do not meet the required standards for verifying eligibility during the voter list revision process.

 

The court is hearing pleas challenging the ECI's June 24 directive ordering a SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar.

 

The directive requires voters not listed in the 2003 electoral roll to submit documents proving their citizenship. Those born after December 2004 must also furnish the citizenship documents of both parents, with additional requirements if a parent is a foreign national.

 

On Monday, the court also observed that the petitions raised “an important question which goes to the very root of the functioning of the democracy in the country- the right to vote.”