New Delhi [India], July 10 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission of India to continue with the Special Inte...
New Delhi [India], July 10 (ANI): The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission of India to continue with the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. While the NDA parties welcomed the apex court's decision, the Opposition, which challenged the ECI's directive, noted that the Supreme Court have "put the brakes on the disenfranchisement exercise which was happening." A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi did not stay the SIR process but asked the ECI to consider allowing Aadhaar, ration cards, and electoral photo identity cards as admissible documents to prove voter identity during the SIR of electoral rolls being undertaken in Bihar.Clarifying that the stay order on the SIR drive was not a requirement, Yogendra Yadav said that the Supreme Court remained alert to the possibility of this exercise posing a serious danger of disenfranchisement. "The Supreme Court has kind of put the brakes on the disenfranchisement exercise that was happening. We did not ask for a stay order. The SC did not give a stay order because that was not required at all. What was said was that in the current exercise, there is a serious danger of disenfranchisement. The Supreme Court was very alert to that possibility," Yadav, one of the petitioners challenging the EC's SIR drive in the Supreme Court, told reporters here."The judges repeatedly ask the Election Commission, 'Why don't you accept the Aadhaar card, when it is mentioned in your own rules for voter registration? Why is it that you don't accept the Epic card that you have yourself issued?" the Swaraj Party informed.He further stated that the apex court has put the Election Commission on a "short leash"."In a sense, the court has put the Election Commission now on a short leash; either come back to us within 14 days, or we will have to press this order further. So to my mind it's an important day to ensure the implementation of universal adult franchise in this country, which was being threatened," Yadav said.Congress MP KC Venugopal on Thursday said that it seemed like that the EC would go with the suggestion of the apex court."It is a relief for the democracy. The matter will now be heard on July 28. The Supreme Court has given its views through this that Aadhaar, voter ID and ration card are to be part of the verification process. I think the Election Commission will go with this suggestion of the Supreme Court. Let's wait for it," Venugopal told ANI.Meanwhile, Bihar Deputy Chief Minister Vijay Sinha welcomed the Supreme Court's decision on Bihar's voter roll revision, expressing faith in the court's judgment.He criticised the Opposition for claiming to have faith in the Constitution while allegedly insulting Constitutional institutions. Sinha found this behaviour unfortunate and questioned why they would disrespect these institutions."We welcome the decision of the honourable court, we have faith in it. On the one hand, they (Opposition) claim to have faith in the Constitution; on the other hand, they insult Constitutional institutions. Why do they insult Constitutional institutions? This is very unfortunate," Vijay Sinha told ANI.
Union Minister Giriraj Singh also expressed happiness over the decision and stated that SIR of the voter list is a "process". He further expressed confidence that NDA government will be formed in Bihar in the upcoming elections. "The special intensive revision of the voter list is a process. We welcome the Supreme Court's decision. NDA government will be formed in Bihar," he said. The SIR exercise was initiated by the Election Commission to update Bihar's electoral rolls, which has been met with resistance from Opposition parties. They argued that the short timelines and stringent requirements could lead to disenfranchisement of many eligible voters.The Supreme Court's decision to allow the SIR to continue has sparked reactions from various political quarters, with the ruling alliance seeing it as a validation of their stance.Reacting to the development, Advocate Ashwini Upadhyay stated that their demand is for the continuation of the SIR procedure and emphasised that voting is not a fundamental right. Still, a free and fair election is. He highlighted that as long as "intruders" are in India, free and fair elections cannot be conducted.Notably, the Supreme Court has stated that the Right to vote has not been given the status of a Fundamental Right. At the same time, democracy is a basic feature of the Indian Constitution in the matter of Bhim Rao Baswanth Rao Patil vs K Madan Mohan Rao & Ors.Although the right to vote is essential in the Indian democracy, it is not included in Part III of the Constitution which states the Fundamental Rights. This has been done to differentiate with alien citizens who have not been given the right to vote but have been given certain fundamental rights like Right to Freedom, etc.The right to vote is a legal right because it has been given to the people through the Representation of the People Act, 1951, section 62(1)."Our demand is that this verification drive should continue. We have said that voting is not a fundamental right, but a free and fair election is a fundamental right. If there is even one Rohingya name or even one intruder's name in the voter list, then it is necessary to remove it. As long as intruders vote in India, it cannot be considered a free and fair election. The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the Election Commission. This hearing will be held on July 28", Advocate Ashwini Kumar said.Kumar asserted that a plea was filed to include Aadhaar, voter, and ration cards in the SIR procedure, to which the Supreme Court stated that if the ECI wishes, they can include those documents in the procedure."On the other hand, a plea was made to include Aadhaar, voter, and ration cards in this as well. The Supreme Court has stated that if the Election Commission so desires, it can accept those three documents. This is the domain of the Election Commission. There is no interference in it. The Election Commission has assured that it will complete the exercise before the Bihar elections", he said.Meanwhile, according to advocate Barun Kumar Sinha, the hearing of the case is scheduled for July 28; until then, the Election Commission of India will continue with its SIR process in Bihar.He informed that the Supreme Court wants the ECI to include Aadhaar card, voter ID card and ration card in the Special Intensive Revision Process."Now the hearing of this case will be held on July 28, till then the Election Commission will continue its work of voter list revision and will present all the information through a counter affidavit in the Supreme Court on the next date. Regarding Aadhaar, the Hon'ble Court said that if the Election Commission wants, it can consider the Aadhaar card, voter ID card and ration card. If the Election Commission wants, it can also reject them by giving reasons", the advocate said. (ANI)
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