Supreme Court: Aadhaar Valid Proof for Bihar Voter Roll Re-Inclusion
Bihar voters challenging their exclusion from the electoral roll ahead of the upcoming elections can now use Aadhaar as proof of residence, the Supreme Court said on Friday. The court directed the Election Commission to add Aadhaar to the existing list of 11 accepted identity documents.
The court estimated that around 35 lakh voters remain excluded after deducting entries of deceased and duplicate voters. It directed affected individuals to complete document submissions by September 1, with Justice Surya Kant stressing urgency. Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted that the process can also be completed online.
The ruling came while the top court was hearing petitions against the “special intensive revision” of the voter list. It clarified that applications for re-inclusion may be submitted with Aadhaar or any of the other 11 approved IDs.
The Supreme Court on Friday pulled up political parties in Bihar for failing to help lakhs of voters whose names were deleted from the electoral rolls, even though many of these parties had opposed the revision exercise, alleging it was designed to disenfranchise their vote base.
“Political parties are not doing their jobs,” the bench remarked, echoing the Election Commission’s note that objections had mostly been filed by individual MPs and MLAs rather than the parties themselves.
“We are surprised at what political parties are doing in Bihar. What are your BLAs (booth-level agents) doing? Political parties must help voters,” the court said after learning that only two objections had come from over 1.6 lakh BLAs across parties.
The court was also told that some poll officials were not acknowledging BLAs’ objections. It ordered that acknowledgment receipts must be issued whenever forms are submitted.
“This problem is beyond 65 lakh people,” Advocate Vrinda Grover, appearing for a petitioner, argued. The bench responded by questioning the parties’ inaction: “After appointing BLAs, what have they been doing? Why is there such distance from the people?”
The Election Commission informed the court that BLAs are allowed to file up to 10 enumeration forms a day on behalf of excluded voters, but individual voters had been more active in filing objections than the parties that had raised concerns. It also noted that no political party had formally submitted objections in writing.
“Voters are more conscious than political parties!” the court remarked, seeking the names of the parties involved and impleading them in the case. The matter will be heard next on September 8.
Earlier, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the poll panel, asked the court for 15 more days to prove there had been no wrongful exclusions. “Political parties are making hue and cry… things are not bad. Repose faith in the Election Commission and give us more time. We will show you there are no exclusions,” he said.
The poll body also told the court that around 85,000 excluded voters have already applied for re-inclusion, while over two lakh new voters have registered their names.
Last week, the EC had been directed to publish deleted names and submit a compliance report. (Agencies)
