Bihar SIR: SC adjourns hearing of petitions till Nov 4, says ECI knows its responsibility

New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Thursday adjourned the hearing of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India's (ECI) decision to conduct Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar to November 4.  

Bihar assembly elections are scheduled to take place on November 6 and November 11 in two phases.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said that the ECI is aware of its statutory responsibility to disclose details of additions and deletions made to the voters' list.

The demand for the ECI to publish separate lists of names added and deleted, along with reasons for deletions, was submitted by Advocate Prashant Bhushan, who appeared for the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

He said that the ECI have not been putting out the final roll on their website and mentioned that it is needed immediately. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, who appeared for the ECI, responded that these court directions were unnecessary since the body is already in the process of publishing the final electoral rolls.

Justice Surya Kant-led Bench observed that the matter was not closed, stating that the ECI was aware of its responsibility. 

"They (ECI) know their responsibility and after doing addition and deletion, they are bound to publish it," the apex court said. The bench added that final lists must be available to political parties and polling agents in each constituency.

The court also noted the ECI's submission, stating that despite the availability of legal aid as directed by the previous apex court order, no appeals against deletions were filed. 

The court addressed the larger constitutional question concerning the ECI's power to conduct a SIR of the electoral rolls, as raised by the petitioners, by requesting the ECI to file written submissions.

In a previous hearing, the bench led by Justice Surya Kant requested the Bihar State Legal Services Authority (BSLSA) to coordinate with the District Legal Services Authorities (DLSAs) to ensure the availability of paralegal volunteers and legal aid lawyers who can assist persons omitted from the list in filing appeals.

During this hearing, the ECI refuted the allegations that a large number of names were deleted from the final voter list following the SIR of the electoral rolls in Bihar. 

(With IANS inputs)