The Election Commission of India on Saturday stated that Enumeration Forms for Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Voter Rolls have been distributed to almost all electors found at their addresses. Furthermore, it added that the forms can be submitted by July 25, and the mandatory documents can be deposited later by August 30.
By 6 PM, July 12, officials had gathered a total of 6,32,59,497 forms, covering approximately 80.11% of the electorate. The Commission reported that all enumeration forms had been printed, and distribution was almost finished to voters confirmed to be residing at their addresses, The Hindu reported.
Earlier, on July 6, the Election Commission of India placed prominent advertisements on the front pages of newspapers in Patna, encouraging citizens to return their completed forms even if they lacked the required identification documents. The notices explained that Electoral Registration Officers could accept and verify such submissions through local verification or other supporting records.
The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the ECI to consider Aadhaar, voter ID as part of the list of documents for the purposes of its SIR in Bihar just months before the State’s assembly elections in November. The court ordered that the SIR would continue.
“The process of SIR will go on. The list of documents is not exhaustive. Aadhaar card, voter card will be accepted. You (ECI) can do your work, but do it in accordance with the mandate of law. The statute allows Aadhaar,” said a bench comprising of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi.
The Court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the ECI's June 24 directive ordering an SIR of the electoral rolls in Bihar. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the ECI, said that the list of documents for verification of voters includes 11 documents and “is not exhaustive.”
The court then said: “in our opinion, it would be in the interest of justice if Aadhaar card, EPIC card and Ration card be included. It is for the ECI to still decide whether it wants to take the documents or not. If it does not take the documents, (it has to) give reasons for the same and the same shall satisfy the petitioners. Meanwhile, petitioners are not pressing for an interim stay."
