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News Topical, Digital Desk : While hearing the petitions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists in Bihar, the Supreme Court disagreed with the argument that the Election Commission's document verification process is an anti-voter and exclusionary step.
Senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, on behalf of the petitioners, was arguing before a bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi this morning. During this, the bench found that the number of eligible documents during the summary revision of voter lists was seven, but it was increased to 11 for special in-depth revision.
What did the Supreme Court say?
Justice Bagchi said, "We understand your argument of exclusion from Aadhaar but the issue of number of documents is actually pro-voter, not against it. Look at the number of documents on the basis of which you can prove citizenship."
Echoing his colleague's views, Justice Surya Kant said, “If they ask for all 11 documents then it is anti-voter but if any one document is asked for...”
What argument did Abhishek Singhvi give?
To this, Singhvi asserted that this requirement is exclusionary. He said, "I will tell you how. An exclusionary test has been demanded here. Look what has been demanded... if you do not have land... then options 5, 6, 7 are over. Options 1 and 2 do not exist. There are no domicile certificates. Passport is an illusion."
"Don't project Bihar like this," Justice Kant intervened. "In terms of All India Services, the maximum representation is from this state. Maximum IAS, IPS, IFS (officers) are from here. This cannot happen if the youth population is not motivated," he said.
Singhvi responded, "We have very talented scientists etc from there, but it is limited to a section of people. There are rural, flood-prone areas in Bihar. There are poverty-stricken areas. What is the point of making a list of 11 documents for them? The issue is that most people in Bihar will not have these documents. We are talking about genuine, authentic testing."
Citing the example of passports, Singhvi said that only 1-2 per cent of Bihar's population has passports and the number is 36 lakh. The bench replied that the figure of 36 lakh passport holders is good.
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