THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, August 14: The Supreme Court hearing on the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list is ongoing, with proceedings continuing on Thursday.
The opposition has targeted both the Election Commission (EC) and the central government over reports that the voter list includes the names of lakhs of deceased individuals.
Concerns Over 22 Lakh Deceased Voters
During Thursday’s hearing, the Supreme Court questioned the EC over its draft report, which states that 22 lakh people have died and their names have been removed. The court asked what difficulty there would be in making this list public.
The bench observed that publishing the list could counter the narrative being pushed by political parties regarding the SIR process.
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The court also sought details on how many people the EC had reached out to while preparing the voter list.
Justice Suryakant questioned why information about the 22 lakh deceased voters was not provided at the booth level.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted that EC officials cannot remove anyone’s name on their own; individuals must be given an opportunity to appeal before their names are deleted.
The court emphasized that citizens have the right to know why their names have been removed.
Election Commission’s Response on Draft Status
In response, the EC’s counsel said that the current list is only a draft and no names have been permanently removed yet.
The commission has sought documents from voters and is updating the list. Those whose details are verified will have their EPIC cards updated, while others’ names may be removed.
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When Justice Bagchi asked how many names are currently on the list, the EC’s counsel replied that out of a total of 7.89 crore voters, 7.24 crore remain on the list, while 65 lakh names have been removed. Justice Suryakant pointed out that with 22 lakh listed as deceased, this is where the problem arises.
