Claims, objections in Bihar SIR exercise can be filed beyond Sept 1, EC tells SC

Underlining that the confusion over SIR exercise in Bihar seems ‘largely’ to be a ‘trust issue’, the SC asked political parties in the state to gear up, PTI reported.

The apex court directed Bihar Legal Service Authority to deploy para-legal volunteers to assist the voters and political parties in filing claims and objections to the electoral roll exercise. It also directed these volunteers to file confidential reports with respective district judges, all of which shall be considered on September 8.

The Election Commission (EC), during the hearing, highlighted that most claims and objections filed by political parties were for exclusion of elector names from the draft electoral rolls, which was published on August 1, according to the report.

Appearing for EC, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, said, “Any extension of deadline will lead to disruption of the entire exercise and finalisation of final electoral roll.”

The poll panel further said 99.5 per cent of the 2.74 crore electors in the draft electoral roll had filed the eligibility documents, countering the allegations of Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), that it had filed 36 claims. The EC informed that the party had filed only 10 such claims, and they have been “duly accepted”.

The poll panel said it will be issuing notices within seven days to those electors whose documents were incomplete, calling SIR a “continuing exercise”, PTI noted.

RJD and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) have sought extension of the deadline to file claims and objections in the poll revision exercise.

The deadline for filing claims and objections for inclusion or exclusion of elector names from the draft roll was Monday.