सुप्रीम कोर्ट ने दिल्ली के मतदाता सूची संशोधन (SIR) को चुनौती देने वाली याचिका को प्राथमिकता दी

Supreme Court Gives Precedence to Plea Challenging Delhi SIR

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday (September 17) agreed to give priority to a petition challenging discrepancies in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in New Delhi.

The exercise has been mired in controversy since the process began on June 30, with nearly one-third of the capital’s voters, over 47 lakh people, left off the draft voter list published on August 31.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant on Thursday said the petition filed by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Neha Rathi would be listed for hearing on September 21.

The petition raised concerns over notices being prepared for another 33 lakh people in addition to the ones removed from the draft list. Bhushan told the court that these notices were being issued on the basis of “logical discrepancies” and “mapping”.

Logical discrepancies refer to inconsistencies in voters’ personal details. These can include unusual age differences between family members, changes in parents’ names and entries supported only by Aadhaar, he said.

Mapping involves checking voters’ details against older electoral records or voting records of family members from previous generations.

Bhushan said the electoral authorities had not disclosed the names of those being issued notices, despite rules requiring such information to be made public, the Hindu reported. He argued that the names should be published on the Election Commission’s website.

He also said that some people had received notices while others had not, and that the notices did not explain why recipients had been called or why their records had been marked as containing a “logical discrepancy”.

Bhushan, while describing the SIR process as “totally opaque”, urged the court to hear the matter at an early stage.

“We will list it on Monday (September 21). Such matters will have precedence,” CJI Kant said.

For our full coverage on the SIR and the issues it has brought to citizens, click here.

The Wire is now on WhatsApp. Follow our channel for sharp analysis and opinions on the latest developments.

Powered by Nyaya 247 News