LI Network
Published on: November 11, 2023 at 12:30 IST
The Supreme Court, on Friday (11.11.2023), issued a notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI) in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) concerning the prevalent issue of duplicate entries in electoral rolls.
The PIL, filed by the Samvidhan Bachao Trust, an NGO, prompted the apex court’s intervention on this matter.
Senior Advocate Meenakshi Arora, representing the petitioner, argued that the current process of updating electoral rolls primarily focuses on removing names of deceased individuals or those who have changed their residence.
However, Arora emphasized that concrete measures to address the specific problem of duplicate entries in the electoral rolls have been lacking. Notably, she pointed out that the necessary actions to rectify these issues were supposed to be completed between July and August of the current year but had not been carried out.
During the proceedings, Chief Justice DY Chandrachud questioned the need for the court’s intervention, suggesting that the matter be directed to the Election Commission.
In response, Arora explained that despite multiple representations to the ECI, no action had been taken. She drew attention to the format issued in Uttar Pradesh for adding electoral rolls, highlighting the absence of provisions to deal with duplicate entries.
“The format of UP shows that there was nothing related to duplication. Duplication was not addressed,” Arora emphasized.
Acknowledging this concern, the bench, comprising CJI DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala, and Justice Manoj Misra, directed that a copy of the petition be served to Mr. Amit Sharma, the standing counsel for ECI. The case is scheduled to be listed on the reopening Friday for further consideration.
This move by the Supreme Court underscores the importance of addressing issues related to electoral rolls, particularly the presence of duplicate entries, to ensure the integrity and accuracy of the electoral process.