Supreme Court to EC: Publish Names and Reasons for 65 Lakh Deleted Bihar Voters by August 19
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to upload, by Tuesday, the names of 65 lakh voters removed during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar, along with specific reasons for each deletion, and to make the data searchable via EPIC numbers to enable quick verification and appeals.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said voters must be able to independently check why their names are missing and file appeals, adding that if lists are already being pasted on signboards, the same information should be accessible online and widely publicised, including through district websites, social media handles of district election officers, vernacular newspapers, Doordarshan, and other channels.
The court also asked the ECI to explicitly publicise that Aadhaar is among 11 acceptable documents for electors and said aggrieved individuals may submit claims with a copy of their Aadhaar, stressing that transparency will build voter confidence and reduce dependence on political party workers for access to lists.
Questioning why booth-level disclosures were not made, the bench noted the ECI’s submission that 22 lakh of the 65 lakh names struck off correspond to the deceased and said the complete, booth-wise dataset should be online and displayed at panchayat bhawans and block offices to ensure manual access as well.
Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, for the ECI, said publicity has been extensive and asserted the commission cannot use state government websites, after which the bench suggested that the state election authority host the data, reiterating that district-level websites must display the full, searchable lists with reasons for deletion.
The court fixed a batch of pleas challenging the SIR exercise in poll-bound Bihar for further hearing on Friday, August 22, and sought compliance on publication and outreach measures ahead of that date.