The Supreme Court has fixed October 7 for final arguments on the validity of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bihar. The bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that as a constitutional authority, the Election Commission of India is presumed to be following the law and mandatory rules while conducting the SIR. The court, however, made it clear that if any irregularities are found in the process, the entire exercise will be scrapped.
The bench further stated that it cannot give fragmented opinions on the Bihar SIR and that its final verdict will apply uniformly across the country. It also clarified that the court cannot prevent the Election Commission from carrying out similar voter list revision exercises nationwide. Petitioners have been allowed to argue on the all-India impact of the SIR during the October 7 hearing.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court also issued notice on a separate plea challenging its earlier order dated September 8, which had permitted Aadhaar to be used as the 12th valid document for voter verification in the Bihar SIR. At that time, the court had clarified that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship but may be used by the Election Commission for verification purposes.
