SC to resume hearing on petitions challenging SIR in Bihar tomorrow

New Delhi, Sep 7 (IANS) The Supreme Court is slated to hear on Monday a clutch of petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar.

The move aimed to purify the voter list has triggered sharp political and legal debates ahead of the 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.

As per the causelist published on the website of the apex court, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi will resume hearing the pleas against the ECI order directing SIR exercise in Bihar on September 8.

Last week, the Justice Surya Kant-led Bench declined to extend the September 1 deadline set by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for filing claims and objections to the draft electoral rolls published after the first phase of the SIR.

The development came after the ECI assured the apex court that even objections sent after September 1, but before the last date of nominations, would still be considered for inclusion in the voters’ list.

The apex court was hearing the applications filed by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and other political parties in the main matter seeking an extension of the poll body’s deadline for submitting the claim form.

In its order passed on September 1, the Justice Surya Kant-led Bench noted: "The process of consideration of claims will continue till the last date of nominations. Let the claims/objections be continued to be filed."

Further, it asked the Bihar State Legal Services Authority to depute para legal volunteers (PLVs) to assist voters and political parties in submitting online claims, objections or corrections.

Meanwhile, the sources claimed that the ECI is considering conducting SIR across the country and has called a meeting of all the state Chief Electoral Officers (CEO) in Delhi on September 10. The meeting will be attended by Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar, the Election Commissioners, and other senior poll body officers. The matter assumes significance as polls are due next year in West Bengal, Assam, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Puducherry, and according to reports, the poll body is likely to conduct the SIR in the whole country.

--IANS

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