Bihar SIR: SC directs Bihar legal aid authority to assist excluded voters in filing appeals before ECI

The Supreme Court on Thursday directed the Bihar State Legal Services Authority (BSLSA) to assist voters whose names were excluded from the final electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in filing appeals before the Election Commission of India (ECI).

A Bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi asked the BSLSA to instruct its district-level units to ensure that paralegal volunteers and legal aid counsel are available to provide free assistance to affected voters.

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The court said the arrangement would ensure that no eligible voter is denied an opportunity to contest their exclusion due to a lack of legal help. The direction came after the Bench noted inconsistencies in some affidavits filed by individuals claiming wrongful exclusion from the final list.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the ECI, questioned the authenticity of at least one such affidavit, calling it false and misleading. He said that in the case cited by the petitioners, the individual’s name was never part of the draft list as he had failed to submit the enumeration form, and thus the claim of deletion was incorrect.

“This is a false affidavit, and that amounts to perjury,” Dwivedi submitted, adding that excluded voters still have a five-day window to file appeals before the ECI.

The court expressed its displeasure with the petitioners, observing that any document placed before it must carry due responsibility. It told advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), that greater care should have been taken before presenting such material.

The Bench also heard submissions from political activist Yogendra Yadav, who supported the plea for safeguards against arbitrary deletions. The matter will now be taken up for further hearing on October 16.

The petitions, filed by ADR and others, challenge the Election Commission’s decision to carry out a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, alleging large-scale exclusion of voters, particularly among the marginalised communities.