Over 2,000 citizens ask SC to stay SIR
NEW DELHI: More than 2,000 citizens have petitioned the Supreme Court over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
The letter is addressed to Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and the companion judges of the court. Its signatories include academics, lawyers, journalists, artists, activists and former public officials.
The petition asks the court to take suo motu cognisance and immediately stay or cancel the SIR pending judicial review. It also seeks an independent investigation into the Election Commission's functioning.
The signatories have called for an independent ECINet audit. They also seek restoration of voters allegedly removed because of software locks or procedural changes.
The letter alleges that centralisation of the voter database and changes to electoral forms weakened statutory safeguards. It also claims ECINet overrode Electoral Registration Officers in some cases.
These assertions are the petitioners' allegations and have not been independently established.
The letter cites reports that two election commissioners recorded 14 objections over 10 months. It alleges an unauthorised Form 6 change and software restrictions affecting 97 voters in Goa.
The petition also alleges that more than 13 crore voters were deleted during the SIR. The figures and characterisations come from the petition.
The Election Commission said in its latest press note that all SIR orders were approved unanimously. It said the Supreme Court had upheld the Form 6 declaration used for the exercise.
The poll panel also announced an expert review of ECINet. It said 81 of the 97 voters cited in Goa had filled Form 6 for inclusion.
Named signatories include retired Madras High Court judge D Hariparanthaman and former Navy chief Admiral Vishnu Bhagwat. The list also includes Prashant Bhushan, Jayati Ghosh, Jawhar Sircar, Yogendra Yadav and Prakash Raj.
