New Delhi, September 22 (Daily Kiran) : The Supreme Court of India held a hearing regarding a petition related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Delhi. The court has issued a notice to the Election Commission, demanding a response within two weeks.
During the proceedings, lawyer Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioner, argued that over 4.7 million names had been removed from the draft voter list. He also noted that notices had been sent to 3.3 million individuals, citing discrepancies in the records as the reason for these removals. Bhushan claimed that the process lacked transparency and involved the systematic deletion of voters’ names.
He stated, “In Delhi, 4.7 million names were deleted. In Bengal, you have seen appeals taking 12 years to resolve. They have deleted 4.7 million from the draft roll, and the Commission claims that most have been shifted.”
In response, D.S. Naidu, representing the Election Commission, indicated that he had not received a copy of the petition. He mentioned that the petitioner had submitted a representation a week prior, but instead of waiting for a response, they approached the court.
Justice Bagchi remarked during the hearing that the Election Commission should investigate these complaints. He noted that the notices appeared to be generated by a computer, adding, “Please look into this. They are saying that when notices are sent, they fall into specific categories. The concerned individual should know what the LD category is.”
The Chief Justice of India also emphasized the need for the Commission to clarify the logical differences in their processes. The Election Commission responded by stating that it had issued a press note and that each notice included the reasons for the actions taken. They insisted that this was not an issue and mentioned that they had increased manpower to manage pending cases.
The Supreme Court inquired about the approximately 3 million notices sent and the number of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) deployed. The Commission replied that 14,000 BLOs and 1,200 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) were assigned.
The Election Commission assured the court that the deadline for completing the work is October 29, and if not achieved, they are open to seeking an extension. They reiterated that this is not a state undergoing elections and that no voter’s name would be removed improperly.
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