Will scrap Bihar SIR if illegality is found: Supreme Court warns Election Commission of India

The top court will hear the final argument on October 7.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi cleared the final verdict will be applicable for pan-India SIR.

On September 8, the top court had directed the ECI to accept Aadhaar Card as the 12th ID proof for the voters excluded in the electoral roll after the voter revision drive.

The poll body had earlier refused to list Aadhaar as one of the 11 ID proofs needed to be furnished to prove as a voter.

The top court said though Aadhaar is not a proof of citizenship, it still is a legitimate proof of identity and residence.

In July, the ECI had filed an affidavit opposing the inclusion of Aadhaar cards, Voter ID and Ration cards in the list of documents eligible for the poll body's voter list revision drive.

The EC said the three IDs can't be relied upon as Aadhaar is merely an identity proof, a number of fake Ration Cards are available in the country and considering the existing voter card will make the initiative meaningless.

The ECI has, however, said one's citizenship won't be terminated on the basis of one's name not featuring in the electoral rolls.

The poll body said it did not violate any law or infringe the fundamental rights of citizens by conducting the exercise.

Several opposition parties including the Congress and Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), which are in the fray in upcoming Bihar assembly elections, have opposed the SIR and dubbed it as "vote chori".

Calling Lok Sabha Leader of Opposition and Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's "vote chori" remark as an "insult to the Constitution", the poll body said the use of phrases like "vote chori" undermined democratic institutions.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar also accused political parties of using the poll body as a political prop.

He also dismissed claims of double voting, saying while concerns had been raised by some, no evidence was submitted.