SC Terms Confusion Over Bihar SIR As 'Largely Trust Issue', EC Tells Court Objections Can Be Filed Beyond Sep 1

(MENAFN- Live Mint) The Supreme Court on Monday flagged a growing“trust deficit” between the Election Commission and political parties and asked the latter group to“activate” themselves in the Bihar special intensive revision (SIR) exercise.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi refused to grant additional time for the Bihar SIR exercise, while taking note of an EC submission that objections and corrections to the same can be filed beyond September 1.

“Trust deficit between the Election Commission and political parties in Bihar is unfortunate,” the SC noted while hearing pleas for an extension of the September 1 deadline for filing objections.

The apex court had earlier flagged similar issues too.

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It also directed the state legal service authority to deploy paralegal volunteers to assist individual voters and political parties in filling claims and objections to the draft roll, which was published on August 1.

Meanwhile, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the EC amid the Bihar SIR hearings , flagged that extension of the SIR date could lead to chaos.

“Any extension of deadline will lead to disruption of the entire exercise and finalisation of final electoral roll,” he said.

Bihar SIR: What EC told SC

Speaking on the ongoing Bihar SIR, the Election Commission told the Supreme Court that the claims, objections and corrections in the draft electoral roll prepared by it could be filed beyond the September 1 deadline.

However, these Bihar SIR claims will be considered once the electoral roll is finalised. Claims and objections can be filed till the last date of nomination forms in each assembly constituency, the EC informed the SC.

The SC took note of the EC's submission on Bihar SIR.

The apex poll body further said that 99.5 per cent of the 2.74 crore electors in the draft electoral roll had filed the eligibility documents.

This was to counter the RJD's claims that alleged of having filed 36 claims, with the EC saying that the party had filed only 10 such claims.

Dwivedi further said the 36 claims that RJD party mentioned in its petition had also been "duly accepted".

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The poll panel said it will be issuing notices within seven days to those electors whose documents were incomplete, calling SIR a "continuing exercise".

Most claims and objections filed by political parties, the EC said, were for exclusion, not inclusion, of names from voter rolls.

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