The Supreme Court's Push for Voter Inclusion in Bihar
UPSC Relevance
Prelims: Indian Polity and Governance (Elections, Electoral Rolls, ECI, Supreme Court, Aadhaar - its legal status); Key Legislations (Representation of the People Act).
Mains:
General Studies Paper 2 (Polity & Governance): Salient features of the Representation of People’s Act; Powers, functions and responsibilities of various Constitutional Bodies (ECI, Judiciary); Important aspects of governance, transparency and accountability.
Key Highlights from the News
The Supreme Court strictly directed the Election Commission (EC) to accept the Aadhaar card as an identity document for inclusion or exclusion of names in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar.
The Court reiterated that Aadhaar is not evidence of Indian citizenship, but merely a proof of identity.
The Court observed that with the exception of passports and birth certificates, the other nine documents approved by the EC are also not proof of citizenship. Therefore, there is no logic in excluding Aadhaar, which falls into the same category.
The petitioners alleged in court that despite repeated orders from the Supreme Court, Election Commission officials refused to accept Aadhaar and took action against officials who did accept it.
This issue is becoming a power struggle between the Supreme Court and the Election Commission.
This judgment is crucial in protecting the voting rights of approximately 65 lakh people who were excluded from the voter list in Bihar.
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