Political activist and Swaraj India leader Yogendra Yadav has approached the Supreme Court, filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) under Article 32 of the Constitution to challenge the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) ongoing "Special Intensive Revision" (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
The petition raises serious concerns that the voter roll revision process, if allowed to proceed in its current form, could lead to the mass deletion of voters' names ahead of the crucial Bihar Assembly elections. Yadav has sought an immediate stay on the deletion of names from the electoral rolls, citing the risk of large-scale disenfranchisement.
The PIL argues that the timing and method of the SIR could undermine the democratic rights of thousands of voters in the state, particularly those from marginalized communities. The matter is expected to be taken up by the Supreme Court in the coming days.
CEC’s Announcement
The state's Chief Electoral Office (CEO) earlier in the day made a major announcement that voters can get verified in the electoral rolls without submitting the requisite documents.
The office of the state CEO informed that voters can submit filled-out electoral forms without the necessary documents in case they not possess them. The documents can be submitted later, and booth-level officers (BLOs) will be uploading the filled-out and signed forms.
“If you (read voters) provide the required documents, it will be easier for the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) to process the application. If you are unable to provide the required documents, the ERO can take a decision on the basis of local investigation or other documentary evidence,” the Election Commission (EC) stated in a front-page advertisement in all of the state's local newspapers on Sunday, according to The Hindu.
The 11 documents being accepted are include birth certificates, passports, education certificates, permanent residence, forest rights, and caste certificates, the family register prepared by State and local authorities, land or house allotment certificates issued by the government, as well as documents issued to government employees or pensioners, and other documents issued by a range of public authorities before 1967.
