Supreme Court directs EC to reveal details of 3.66 lakh removed voters

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu) : The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the Election Commission to provide detailed information on 3.66 lakh voters who were removed from the final voter list prepared after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bihar. The court directed that this information be submitted by October 9, when the matter will be heard next.

The Supreme Court's emphasis on transparency was evident in the bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, who said that now that both the draft and final lists are in the public domain, they can be compared to determine which voters' names have been deleted and which have been added. The bench said the court's orders are aimed at strengthening transparency and public participation in the electoral process. Justice Bagchi said, "It appears that 6.5 million names were deleted from the draft list. It is justified to delete the names of deceased or migrated voters, but every amendment must be in accordance with Rule 21 and the SOP."

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Election Commission, stated that the number of voters in the final voter list has increased because most of the added names are of new voters. He also said that no deleted voter has filed a complaint or appeal so far. According to the Commission, the total number of voters in the final list released on September 30 decreased to 7.42 crore from 7.89 crore earlier, a decrease of approximately 47 lakh. However, compared to the draft list (August 1), the final list has increased by 17.87 lakh. The draft list included 65 lakh deleted names – including those of deceased, transferred, or duplicate voters – while 21.53 lakh new voters were added.