NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Tuesday orally remarked that it would “immediately step in” if there is mass exclusion of voters following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.
The observation came from a Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi as it dealt with a clutch of petitions claiming that if the June 26 decision of the ECI directing SIR is not set aside, it can "arbitrarily" and "without due process" disenfranchise lakhs of voters, disrupt free and fair elections and democracy.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, citing a statement issued by the poll body, submitted that 65 lakh individuals had not submitted enumeration forms during the SIR process, as they were either deceased or had permanently relocated.
“We are here, we will hear your concerns. We are overviewing the matter as a judicial authority. If there is mass exclusion, we will immediately step in, ” the Justice Kant-led Bench assured Bhushan and posted the clutch of petitions against SIR for hearing on August 12 and 13.