Supreme Court Warns EC: Entire Bihar SIR Drive Could Be Scrapped if Rules Are Broken

National News: The Supreme Court on Monday warned the Election Commission of India (ECI) that the entire Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in Bihar could be cancelled if any mistakes or illegal actions are found. The court said it will give a final decision that applies not just to Bihar, but to similar voter list exercises across the country. The bench also noted that it expects the ECI to follow all laws and rules while conducting the SIR. The final hearing on the issue is scheduled for October 7.

Aadhaar added to valid papers list

Last Monday (September 8), the Supreme Court ordered that Aadhaar must be treated as the twelfth valid paper for adding names to Bihar’s voter lists during the ongoing SIR. This came after complaints that election officers were refusing to accept it despite earlier instructions. A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi rejected the ECI’s objections to formally including Aadhaar in its list of approved identity proofs. The bench underlined that although Aadhaar cannot prove citizenship, it is still a valid proof of identity and place of residence.

Opposition questions voter deletions

The case over the ECI’s SIR exercise began after opposition parties raised concerns about genuine voters’ names being removed without proper checks. They say the SIR is an unfair clean-up because Aadhaar, a document widely held by people, was missing from the list of 11 papers needed to add a name to the voter roll. On August 18, the EC published the names of 65 lakh people who had been removed from the draft voter lists prepared under the SIR exercise.