The Supreme Court today refused to stop the Election Commission from publishing the draft electoral rolls for Bihar on August 1 as per the schedule notified for the Special Intensive Revision. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi did not hold a detailed hearing, as Justice Kant had to attend an administrative meeting with the Chief Justice. However, he assured the petitioners that the matter would be heard at the earliest and asked lawyers to indicate the estimated time needed for arguments by tomorrow.
Appearing for the Association for Democratic Reforms, Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan urged the Court to halt the publication, arguing it could inconvenience approximately 4.5 crore voters. He noted that once the draft list is out, excluded individuals would have to file objections to be included. Justice Kant remarked that the list was only a draft and could be invalidated later if any illegality was found.
The petitioners also alleged that the Election Commission was not adhering to the Court’s July 10 directive to consider Aadhaar, Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC), and Ration Cards for verification. In its affidavit, the ECI expressed reservations about these documents, particularly citing concerns over fake ration cards. The bench verbally advised the Commission to at least consider statutory documents like Aadhaar and EPIC.
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