Delhi SIR: Supreme Court Asks EC to Reach Out to 47 Lakh Deleted Voters

The Supreme Court on Wednesday, 28 October, asked the Election Commission to reach out to about 47 lakh Delhi voters whose names are missing from the draft roll under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), instead of leaving them to apply again on their own. A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana heard a plea by Anjali Bhardwaj and Amrita Johri, argued by Prashant Bhushan, according to PTI.

No Cutoff Date for Missing Voters

The bench told the Commission not to fix a deadline at this stage and to keep accepting Forms 6 and 8. It asked why voters who were already enrolled must file Form 6, which is meant for first-time enrolment, and suggested the Commission accept enumeration forms from deleted voters instead of Forms 6, 7 and 8.

It also suggested publishing lists of voters the Commission could not contact, with their earlier polling locations, and asking them to meet the nearest Booth Level Officer and file Form 8. “Instead of burdening them that they will approach, why don’t you reach out to them?” the Chief Justice said, according to the report. Justice Bagchi called the right to vote “a vital right”.

Also read Maharashtra SIR: Supreme Court Seeks EC Reply on 3 Crore Deletions

Draft Roll Out Since 31 August

The Commission published the Delhi draft roll on 31 August. Of Delhi’s 1.45 crore voters, about 47 lakh were left off it. The petition asks for a published list of electors who received notices during the SIR, with the reason for each notice. The same exercise has drawn court challenges in other states; see what the Commission said in its Supreme Court affidavit and the state-wise deletion figures.

The Commission’s counsel, senior advocate D S Naidu, said omission from a draft roll is not a final deletion and that eligible people can still seek inclusion. He said the Commission ran awareness camps and deployed thousands of Booth Level Officers.

Deadline of 30 October May Move

The Commission told the court it would consider accepting late enumeration forms and would extend the 30 October deadline if needed. The Supreme Court will hear the plea again after two weeks; no date has been fixed yet.

Source: Based on reporting by ThePrint (PTI). No published order was available at the time of writing.

Image: Wikimedia Commons.