New Delhi, Jan 29 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Thursday issued a series of directions to ensure transparency and fairness in the verification of voters placed in the ‘logical discrepancy’ category during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Tamil Nadu.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted that around 1.16 crore persons whose names appeared in the draft voter rolls had been served notices by officials of the Election Commission of India (ECI), citing logical discrepancies and seeking verification.
The bench extended to Tamil Nadu the directions issued by the court last week in connection with the SIR exercise in West Bengal.
Under the directions, the names of persons falling under the ‘logical discrepancy’ category shall be displayed at ‘gram panchayat bhavans’ and other public places at the taluk level. The list must also mention brief reasons for the discrepancy in each case.
The court permitted affected persons to submit their documents or objections, either in person or through an authorised representative, within 10 days.
Such documents or objections are to be submitted before the Booth-Level Officer (BLO).
The bench further directed that adequate manpower be provided to the ECI and the State Election Commission for deployment at BLOs or at sub-divisional level offices.
District Collectors were instructed to meticulously follow the directions issued by the Election Commission of India to ensure smooth conduct of the SIR process.
Superintendents of Police of all districts were also directed to ensure that no law and order issues arise at the designated locations during the verification exercise.
The court observed that it expects the Election Commission of India to follow the same procedure in other states where the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is currently underway.
The order was passed on an application filed by DMK secretary RS Bharathi. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for the petitioner, while senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu represented the Election Commission of India.
Tamil Nadu was represented by additional advocate general Amit Anand Tiwari.
