The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Election Commission of India to publish the names of 65 lakh voters excluded from the draft electoral roll, including reasons behind their exclusion.
The apex court also allowed voters whose names have been deleted from the draft voter list to submit their claims with Aadhaar card.
Hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision exercise in Bihar, the top court said, “A list of approximately 65 lakh voters whose names appear in the voter list of 2025 but are not included in the draft list shall be displayed on the website of every district electoral officer (district-wise)”.
The court said that the ECI will also ensure voters are made aware of the reasons behind the exclusion.
The commission has also been directed by the court to list it in newspapers and broadcast it on Doordarshan and radio channels. District electoral officers, who have a social media presence, shall also display public notice on there as well.
“In the public notice, it shall also be expressly mentioned that the aggrieved persons may submit their claims along with a copy of their Aadhaar cards. In addition, booth-wise lists of 65 lakh voters (approx.) shall also be displayed on notice boards by each booth-level officer in panchayat offices—to enable the public to have access to these lists, with reasons,” the court said.
Earlier in the day, the Election Commission of India told the court that it is operating under an atmosphere of sharp political hostility and there is hardly any decision that is not contested. The commission stated that it is caught up in the struggle between political parties.
“Today, ECI operates in an atmosphere of sharp political (hostility). Hardly any matter where there’s no sharp contest, coming back to the legal points, we have seen repeated challenges to EVM. Your lordships have upheld the powers of the Commission. Prayer sought for returning to paper ballots was rejected. This hue and cry that egregiously wrong steps are being taken by the Commission…we are caught up between a struggle between political parties,” senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the poll panel, said.
Taking a jibe at the Opposition, Dwivedi said if they lose in one state, they start questioning the EVM.
“I’m not concerned with their perception, but with legality. About perception, we can’t do anything. Political parties will have their own necessities to project a perception to win an election,” the ECI counsel said.
Taking strong exception to the petitioners’ argument that Bihar is not so advanced in digital literacy, the ECI said, India’s first president was from Bihar, and the state has been a land of enlightenment.
To this, the bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi agreed. “It is the birthplace of democracy also,” Justice Bagchi said.