SC directs EC to upload names of 65 lakh voters removed in Bihar, ensure access by Tuesday
New Delhi: The Supreme Court today ordered the Election Commission (EC) to upload the names of 65 lakh people removed from Bihar’s voter list, along with the reasons for their deletion, on its website by Tuesday, media reports said.
The court further directed that the list must be publicised to ensure that every voter can access it, according to an NDTV report.
In a significant ruling, the bench said those whose names were wrongly deleted can file claims by submitting a copy of their Aadhaar cards.
This is crucial as petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision had objected to Aadhaar being excluded as valid proof, warning it would disenfranchise many voters.
"Aggrieved persons may submit their claims along with a copy of their Aadhaar cards. In addition, the booth-wise list of 65 lakh voters shall also be displayed on the noticeboard of all the panchayat bhawans and the Block development and panchayat offices so that people have manual access to the list," Justice Kant said while reading out the order, according to the report.
Earlier in the hearing, Justice Joymalya Bagchi inquired how many names were omitted from the draft list after the Special Intensive Revision.
Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the EC, responded, "65 lakhs are not there, 22 lakhs are dead."
He emphasised that no name had been deleted, and anyone alive whose name was wrongly marked as deceased could approach poll officials for correction, the report added.
"What we are asking is to be more transparent. We are saying that instead of this, put the entire data set on the website," Justice Bagchi remarked. Justice Kant added that while political workers may have their own ideology, “people must be able to independently check” their names online, the report said.
The bench ordered that the complete dataset be made available on the EC’s website in a searchable format, allowing people to verify details using their EPIC numbers.
“Anita Devi should know that if I go to this website, I will know how to get my name,” Justice Kant said. The matter will be heard again on August 22.
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