The Supreme Court on Friday ruled that Bihar voters excluded from the electoral roll can use their Aadhaar card as proof of residence to seek re-inclusion. The court directed the Election Commission to add Aadhaar to a list of 11 other government-approved documents that can be submitted for the process.
The court estimated that around 35 lakh voters had been left out after accounting for duplicate entries and the names of deceased individuals. Justice Surya Kant directed that all necessary documents must be submitted by September 1, with Justice Joymalya Bagchi noting that this can also be done online.
The bench was hearing petitions contesting the ‘special intensive revision’ of the voter list. It clarified that applications for re-inclusion can be filed with either one of the 11 listed documents or Aadhaar.
Court Rebukes Political Parties Over Inaction
The Supreme Court also issued sharp remarks against political parties in Bihar, questioning their lack of involvement in helping voters whose names were struck off the rolls.
“Political parties are not doing their jobs,” the court observed, highlighting that while individual MPs and MLAs had filed objections, political parties themselves had not. “We are surprised at what political parties are doing in Bihar. What are your BLAs (booth-level agents) doing? Political parties must help voters.”
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The Election Commission told the court that only two objections were received from over 1.6 lakh BLAs and confirmed that acknowledgment receipts must now be issued when forms are submitted. The poll body further noted that voters had been more active than parties in filing objections, with one petitioner’s counsel, Advocate Vrinda Grover, arguing, “This problem is beyond 65 lakh people.”
The court has impleaded the political parties in the case and set the next hearing for September 8. Meanwhile, the poll body reported that around 85,000 excluded voters have already moved for re-inclusion, and over two lakh new voters have applied for registration.
Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Election Commission, requested a 15-day window to demonstrate that there had been no wrongful exclusion. “Political parties are making hue and cry… things are not bad. Repose faith in the Election Commission and give us more time. We will show you there are no exclusions,” he said.
