Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) Case- Supreme Court Hearing-Live Updates

Singhvi (reads): "any person whose name is not recorded in the 2003 electoral roll, can for the purpose of registration in electoral rolls, is required to submit...for establishing their eligibility to be an elector". I, who has been voter since years, must produce documents! De-facto deletion without following rules. Non-inclusion is a very clever word used for deletion.

Singhvi: EC is forgetting that I have voted in 5-10 elections already. Just note how in 2004 EC guidelines...it's a very unique thing they are doing in Bihar, contrary to their own guidelines...they are swearing by this Lal Babu Hussein...this is directly contrary to the judgment.

Singhvi reads the following from the judgment:

"This is evident from the fact that the police refused to accept any other document and prepared stereotype reports which betray non-application of mind and the Electoral Registration Officers abdicated their functions and merely super added their seals to such reports. This, notwithstanding the fact that these persons were voters in previous elections and hence it would ordinarily appear that their cases were verified before their names were entered in the electoral rolls. That is because it may be presumed that official acts performed under the provisions of the 1950 Act or the 1960 Rules were regularly done. Their names were already on the rolls and since they were sought to be removed by undertaking a special revision, whether intensive or otherwise, the procedure for removal had to be followed."

Singhvi: these are people who have already voted in 5-7-8 elections! if the opportunity of hearing person challenging deletion of his name has to be effective [time is required]...very similar factual situation was there in Lal Babu Hussein case, which has stood the test of time.

Singhvi: Summary revision of rolls happened 8-10 months ago, now ECI wants to do intensive revision in 2.5 months. this much time can't be enough for 5 crore people.

Singhvi: they reversed the entire system of revising the rolls. In the guise of revising, they're doing an exercise reversing burden of proving citizenship.

J Kant reiterates that entire thing can be set aside even if illegality is established in as late as September

J Kant: law on citizenship has to be by Parliament. but once that law has been made...

Singhvi: Those on the rolls can't be dealt with negative presumption. this case deserves interim intervention.

Singhvi: Electoral roll is presumptively held not to be valid solely on ground of citizenship. You cannot have a system where citizenship is doubted for 5 crore people unless...presumption is he's a valid citizen unless they follow procedure and remove...

J Kant: Upto 2003, there's no dispute. Those who are on voter list, they are not required to submit any document. Mr Dwivedi is saying those who were voters till 2003, their children also are not required to give documents

Singhvi: When elections are 2.5 months away, what they have done is- they have issued a presumptive negative declaration...and said that to become valid on existing roll on which you are sitting, these people...I am only on the presumption in a squeezed time frame. Look at the object of all this. You declare 5 crore people to be not valid and give them 2.5 months!

J Kant: If they declare 5 crore people invalid, we are sitting here

Singhvi: Why is there resistance to consider Aadhaar and EPIC? Very clear that ECI does not want to look at them because they say it's insufficient for determining citizenship. Otherwise, there's no reason

J Kant: They don't say, the Aadhaar Act says that

Singhvi: They say in counter...entire exercise is without jurisdiction...determination of citizenship is an exercise which does not fall in domain of EC...they can't say before 2 months of election that we are doing SIR and we will remove...removal of people on ground of citizenship has to follow a procedure. The argument is - from 2003-2025, there is presumptive exclusion unless EC finds that these people...according to their test, one has to prove citizenship.

J Kant: In the 2 forms Mr Sibal referred to, there's specific clause referring to Aadhaar card

Grover: the range of documents is accommodating...the rule-making power has been flouted by this [ECI]...art 324 does authorize ECI, but it has to be read harmoniously...rule 25 and statutory scheme is inclusive...I am representing two activists/voters of Bihar...some migrant workers in Delhi have not been able to give enumeration forms...these are part of 65 lakh voters

Singhvi: I am on triple test for interim relief.