The Supreme Court intervened Thursday to ensure 'transparency' in the revision of voter lists in Tamil Nadu – as mandated by the Election Commission – before the Assembly election in April.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi heard an urgent plea by DMK leader RS Bharti, who said 1.72 crore voters – around 88 per cent of the total in a state in which the BJP has historically struggled for votes – had been dropped citing "logical discrepancies".
In response the court, which is also hearing complaints related to voter list revisions in Bengal and Kerala before elections in those states, directed the poll body to publish the full list of voters in the 'logical discrepancies' list in government offices and allow those on the list 10 days – from the date of the list being displayed – to submit documents to counter their exclusion.
"We direct each Collector to follow directions issued by the EC and deploy personnel for the smooth conduct of the SIR," the court said, also calling on the police to ensure "there is no law-and-order problem" We hope the EC adheres to these directions wherever an SIR is ongoing."
"The DGP (Director-General of Police) and Commissioner of Police are directed to ensure no law-and-order problem is created and ensure the exercise is done smoothly”, the bench said.
The SIR exercise has been hugely controversial since it was carried out in Bihar last year;47 lakh names were removed shortly before an election in which the ruling BJP-JDU cantered to victory.
Opposition parties and civil activists have argued the revision of voter lists is a ploy by the BJP and the poll body to manipulate voter lists and election results in favour of the party.
On their parts, both the EC and BJP have rubbished any talk of collusion.
In Tamil Nadu over 97 lakh voters were cut after the first round of revisions, dropping the total number of registered voters in the state from 6.41 lakh to 5.43 lakh. The window for excluded individuals to appeal – a provision ordered by the court in an earlier hearing – shut January 18.
The order relating to Tamil Nadu today mirrors that passed for Bengal this month.
The court extended the timeline for completion of the SIR in Bengal and four other state, including Rajasthan, pushing the deadline for filing claims and objections to January 19.
