Makes Top Court's "Intent" Clear: Yogendra Yadav On Poll Roll Revision Order

Aadhaar will be the 12th document for the 65 lakh people whose names were deleted from the voter list by the Election Commission, political analyst Yogendra Yadav said today, suggesting that though it is an interim relief, eventually it might apply to everyone. Mr Yadav is one of the petitioners who have challenged Special Intensive Revision exercise or SIR by the Election Commission ahead of the assembly election in Bihar.

They consider the interim relief from the Supreme Court that came today -- the inclusion of Aadhaar and the order that the poll body release the 65 lakh names dropped from the lists - a positive. The court's decision, he told NDTV, should please the Election Commission too.

Regarding the direction that the Commission reveal the 65 lakh names and must mention the reason for deletion from the draft rolls, Mr Yadav said it was the "first indication" that the Supreme Court
"insists on transparency".

Read: Supreme Court's Aadhaar Option For Those Struck Off Bihar's Voter List

"We were simply saying for the last two weeks -- you (the Election Commission) have thrown 65 lakh people out of the voters list. You say the reasons are very valid. Just give us names and give us which name has been deleted for which reason. You are telling us 22 lakh people have been deleted because they are dead. We were simply saying, please give us the names so that we can check, their families can check. Election Commission wouldn't do that," he told NDTV in an exclusive interview.

"Today, after 45 minutes of dragging their feet, the Election Commission was forced to do that. So, that's the transparency," he said.

Also, though the top court said the 65 lakh people would be able to approach the Commission with Aadhaar, "Clearly, it cannot be that Aadhaar is relevant only for those 65 lakh and not for the 7.24 crore".

"The intent of the court was quite clear. So, I would say for all practical purposes, the list of 11 has been expanded to include Aadhaar, which is a very major step forward," he told NDTV.

During today's hearing, the bench of Justices Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said Aadhaar is a statutorily recognised document for identity and residence.

When Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan said the poll body is not accepting Aadhaar, Justice Bagchi said, "No, no they have to".

"It is a statutory obligation. It has to be there," said Justice Kant.

Regarding the names of 65 lakh voters, the Supreme Court said the Election Commission must give "wide publicity" to the lists, especially on vernacular language newspapers and broadcast and telecast on Doordarshan and other channels.

Read: Name 65 Lakh Taken Off Bihar Voter List, Give Reason: Top Court To Poll Body

"The district election officer, if they have a social media handle, shall display the notice there as well," it said.

The court has also directed the Election Commission to advertise that they are going to accept Aadhaar in addition to the 11 documents they have specified, said advocate Prashant Bhushan, who is also a petitioner in the case.