New Delhi | The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Bihar State Legal Service Authority (BSLSA) to issue directions to its district-level bodies for assisting 3.66 lakh voters excluded from the final electoral rolls in filing appeals with the Election Commission.
The top court said that it expected the political parties to come out with their grievances with regard to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise after they were impleaded in the matter, but they appear to be satisfied.
It said the question of deciding appeals by voters who have been excluded after the SIR exercise of electoral rolls in Bihar within the stipulated time and with a reasoned order will be considered on the next date of hearing on October 16 in response to pleas challenging the EC's exercise.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said the district legal service authority will release a list of para-legal volunteers for assisting the excluded voters by filing appeals and ensuring that they have detailed orders of their name's rejection.
"We want everyone to be given a fair chance to appeal and they should have detailed orders with them on why their names have been excluded. It should not be a one-line cryptic order," the bench said.
At the outset, a drama unfolded in the top court when senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi pointed out that the petitioner NGO, 'Association for Democratic Reforms', which challenged the Bihar SIR exercise, had given fake details of a person, who claimed that his name had been excluded from the final list.
Dwivedi pointed out that the name of the person referred to in the NGO's affidavit did not feature in the draft roll and the details he had given were of some woman.
"The way these papers are being shown to the Court is astonishing. Now they have dropped the story that a large number of people, including Muslims, were excluded. It's a different story now. Now they want the court to be taken to a different lane…," he submitted.
Justice Kant said, "We thought we would be able to help those who genuinely want to be included in the final list but…"
Dwivedi added that the NGO was not helping people but was building only narratives and creating speculations.
"The ADR is saying a lot in its affidavit... how do they know how many Muslims and others are excluded? I want an order from the Court that those who want to appeal may do so as the window will be closing in five days," he said.
Justice Kant said, "The said person should have disclosed correct information and we also do not appreciate this kind of thing."
The bench, after perusing the details, said, "We wonder if such a person even exists."
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, said that the details were given to him by a very responsible person. The name of the elector, who claimed that his name did not feature in the final electoral roll of Bihar, can be ascertained by the district legal service authority, he said.
The bench expressed annoyance, saying this was not expected and clarified that it may pass some remarks.
Justice Kant said the BSLSA will help the excluded voters to file their appeals after collecting data from booth level officers (BLOs) and the voters who have been excluded can very well approach the para-legal volunteers of their areas.
Dwivedi pointed out that no elector has come forward till now to say they have not received the order from the EC on why their names were deleted.
Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for some Bihar-based activists, said that the electoral roll will freeze on October 17 as it is the last date of filing nominations and according to the EC scheme, there is no provision or time limit for deciding appeals against the rejection of names.
Justice Kant said if timelines are not there, the court can fix them and ensure that if appeals are filed, they should not be dismissed with a one-line cryptic order.
The top court also heard Yadav, who alleged that under the SIR exercise, there was systemic exclusion, structural exclusion and the possibility of targeted exclusion. He submitted that the court may direct the poll panel to disclose the number of persons whose names have been deleted on the ground that they were not Indian citizens, saying, "It would be a great service to the country."
Dwivedi said the EC would file its response to the submissions.
On October 7, the top court asked the EC to provide details of 3.66 lakh voters who were part of the draft voter list but were excluded from the final electoral roll prepared after Bihar's SIR exercise, saying there is "confusion" over the matter.
On September 30, the EC, while publishing the final electoral list of the poll-bound Bihar, said that the total number of electors has come down by nearly 47 lakh to 7.42 crore in the final electoral roll from 7.89 crore before the SIR exercise of the voter list.
The final figure has, however, increased by 17.87 lakh from 7.24 crore electors named in the draft list issued on August 1, which had removed 65 lakh voters from the original list on various accounts, including deaths, migration and duplication of voters.
While 21.53 lakh new electors have been added to the draft list, 3.66 lakh names have been removed, resulting in a net increase of 17.87 lakh.
The assembly elections in Bihar will be held in 121 seats of the 243-member assembly on November 6, while the remaining 122 constituencies will go to polls on November 11. The counting of votes will be held on November 14.
