Bihar SIR | SC Allows Online Voter Applications
The Court further directed the 12 recognised political parties in Bihar to instruct their Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to assist voters in filling and submitting the forms.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday ordered that individuals excluded from the draft electoral roll in Bihar can submit their applications for inclusion through online mode, eliminating the need for physical submission of forms.
A Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi clarified that applicants may submit any of the 11 documents listed by the Election Commission of India or Aadhaar along with their applications.
The Court further directed the 12 recognised political parties in Bihar to instruct their Booth Level Agents (BLAs) to assist voters in filling and submitting the forms. It also impleaded these parties as respondents in the case, if not already petitioners.
Expressing surprise, the Bench noted that despite having 1.6 lakh BLAs, only two objections had been filed. Some parties, however, alleged that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were not acknowledging the objections submitted by BLAs. The Court directed BLOs to issue receipts for all physical submissions.
Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Election Commission of India, informed the Court that compliance affidavits had been filed, and the lists of excluded voters—along with reasons for exclusion—had been published online and at polling stations. These lists, he said, were also shared with BLAs.
Dwivedi added that while over 2 lakh new voter inclusion forms had already been filed, no recognised political party had formally objected to deletions. He accused parties of “whipping up fear for political interests” instead of cooperating.
Countering this, Senior Advocates Kapil Sibal and A.M. Singhvi pointed out that opposition parties including the RJD, INC, CPI(M), CPI(ML), CPI, and NCP were actively representing petitions before the Court.
The Court stressed that political parties must play a constructive role in assisting the Election Commission to complete the voter list update process.
