The Supreme Court on Wednesday raised pointed questions over the manner in which the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls is being carried
out in Delhi, particularly over the exclusion of around 43 lakh voters from the draft roll and the requirement for some of them to submit Form 6 for re-enrolment. A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant questioned why voters who were already on the electoral roll but were temporarily away from their registered addresses and subsequently left out of the draft roll under the “shifted or absent” category were being asked to submit Form 6, a form meant for fresh enrolment of voters. Justice Joymalya Bagchi questioned the poll body on the procedure, asking why voters who had temporarily shifted and failed to respond to notices were being treated like first-time voters. The court observed that temporary movement does not amount to "shifting" under the Representation of the People Act, and said the ECI would have to address the “incongruity” in the process. “Form 6, 7, 8 are cast in stone; you can't make any change in them," Justice Bagchi observed, stressing that the existing statutory forms could not simply be altered to accommodate the issue. The court suggested that voters who had temporarily shifted and missed the draft roll should instead be allowed to rely on their enumeration forms along with relevant documents and a declaration explaining their failure to respond to the notice.
SC Questions 43 Lakh Exclusions
The Supreme Court also expressed surprise over around 43 lakh voters being left out of the draft electoral roll as “shifted or absent”. The bench questioned the need for such a large number of existing voters to go through a process applicable to fresh enrolment when they were already part of the electoral roll.The ECI informed the court that it had organised extensive weekend camps at polling-station locations to proactively re-enrol eligible voters who may have been mistakenly deleted, while also processing applications from young and first-time voters through Form 6.
The court, however, asked the poll panel to adopt a simpler mechanism for voters who had only temporarily moved.
‘Why The Hurry? No Election In Delhi Soon’: CJI
Chief Justice Surya Kant also questioned the urgency behind the October 30 deadline for filing claims, objections and enrolment applications. The CJI said there was no immediate election in Delhi and urged the ECI not to insist on an early cut-off date for voters seeking re-inclusion.“See, no election is going to happen in Delhi soon. So let there be early cut-off date. Don't do things in a hurry,” the CJI observed.
The Supreme Court asked the ECI to consider extending the October 30 deadline for filing claims and objections under the Delhi SIR. The ECI indicated that it was willing to extend the deadline if required and said it would consider accepting late enumeration forms.
The court also asked the poll panel to reach out to voters and encourage them to submit the relevant forms, with the CJI stressing: “Go for the simplest remedy.”
SC Cautions EC On ‘Logical Discrepancy’ List
The bench also made an important observation regarding the 33.1 lakh existing voters who were served notices over "logical discrepancies".Justice Bagchi clarified that the Supreme Court has not adjudicated on the legality of the "logical discrepancy" list. He pointed out that the court had permitted its use only as an interim measure in the West Bengal case and that the issue had not been adjudicated upon in the Bihar SIR case.
The observation assumes significance as thousands of existing voters have been flagged during the Delhi electoral-roll revision exercise based on such discrepancies.
The Supreme Court has given the ECI two weeks to report back on the steps being taken, including the mechanism for dealing with voters who were left out of the draft roll and the possibility of extending the deadline.
