The Supreme Court on Tuesday observed that the Election Commission is correct in saying that Aadhaar cannot be treated as conclusive proof of citizenship. The SC is hearing petitions challenging a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.
During the hearing, Justice Surya Kant told Kapil Sibbal, “The EC is correct in saying Aadhaar cannot be accepted as conclusive proof of citizenship. It has to be verified.” Sibbal is representing the petitioner in the case.
Examining EC’s legal authority
The Bench is currently examining whether the poll panel has the legal authority to conduct such voter verification exercises. “If the ECI has no such power, the matter ends there. But if it does, there should be no objection to the process,” Justice Kant remarked.
The EC on June 24 ordered a special revision of Bihar’s electoral rolls ahead of state polls. Petitioners, including several opposition leaders and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), have criticised the move as a form of “citizenship screening”. The polls in the state are expected to take place in November. The intensive exercise of voter revisions is under the spotlight as it is taking place with assembly polls right around the corner.
Political analysts have pointed to the aspect that while SIRs is an important exercise, conducting it in Bihar, so close to the elections, will make it a rushed task.
What did the court say in previous hearings?
In an earlier hearing, the court cautioned the EC that it would “not hesitate to act” if the revised rolls reflected “mass exclusions”. ADR, which has sought transparency in the process, last week filed a fresh plea asking the EC to publish the names of nearly 65 lakh voters deleted from the draft roll along with the reasons for removal.
Responding on August 9, the EC told the court that deletions from the draft list, which was published on August 1 as part of the SIR, would be made only after issuing prior notices stating the grounds for removal. It assured the court that affected voters would get a fair chance to respond, submit documents and receive reasoned orders from competent authorities.