Election Commission tells Supreme Court it is only removing fake voters in Bihar as part of its constitutional duty. Says voters have no issue and slams “misleading news” on Special Intensive Revision.
New Delhi: On July 21, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has denied the serious allegations made by several opposition parties regarding manipulation or tampering of the voter list in Bihar.
These parties had approached the Supreme Court claiming that the Special Summary Revision, also called the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), was being misused to delete genuine voters and alter the electoral rolls unfairly.
In its official response filed before the Supreme Court, the Election Commission strongly rejected these allegations.
It stated that it was only carrying out its constitutional duty to ensure a clean and accurate voter list by removing duplicate and fake entries. The ECI emphasized that the process was being done transparently and that “voters do not have any problem” with the ongoing revision exercise.
The Commission further highlighted that the Special Intensive Revision was being wrongly portrayed in certain sections of the media.
It expressed concern over what it described as “misleading news” being spread in public. According to the ECI, such coverage can cause unnecessary confusion and doubt in the minds of the public about the fairness of the electoral process.
In its affidavit to the Supreme Court, the Commission reiterated its commitment to maintaining the integrity of elections and said that the removal of fake voters is an essential part of the electoral process.
It explained that the Special Intensive Revision was being conducted in accordance with the guidelines set out under the law and under the direct supervision of designated election officers.
The Commission also underlined that opposition claims lacked factual basis and were politically motivated. It assured the Court that the revision work is taking place as per due process and within the framework of the law.
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To sum up, the Election Commission firmly stood its ground and called the allegations against it baseless. It maintained that the aim of the SIR was to strengthen the voter list and not to manipulate it. The ECI defended its actions by saying,
“It was fulfilling its constitutional responsibility to remove fake voters from the voter list, with which the voters do not have any problem.”
It also took strong objection to what it described as “misleading news being run in a section of media regarding Special Intensive Revision (of electoral rolls) dubbed SIR.”
Case Title:
Association for Democratic Reforms and Ors. v. Election Commission of India and connected matters
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