It asked the poll panel to continue accepting Aadhaar and voter ID for the SIR exercise in Bihar in compliance with its order, saying both documents had a “presumption of genuineness.”Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, had submitted that the electoral rolls should not be finalised in the interim, pressing for an interim stay on the publication of the draft rolls on August 1.The apex court, however, referred to the top court’s previous order noting the petitioners did not press for an interim relief, which couldn’t be allowed now, and said the matter would be interpreted once and for all.On July 10, a bench headed by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia asked the EC to consider Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards as valid documents as it allowed the poll panel to continue with its exercise in Bihar.The top court on Monday said the Election Commission suggested that the list of 11 documents for SIR was not inclusive but exhaustive, and they were using both Aadhaar and voter IDs for the purpose of identification.Dwivedi said Aadhaar was not a proof of citizenship and the voter card was not relied upon as it was a revision exercise or else there was no use of such an exercise.Justice Kant had then remarked, “Any document on earth can be forged. The Election Commission can deal with cases of forgery on a case to case basis. Instead of en masse exclusion it must be en masse inclusion.”Dwivedi said the poll panel was accepting both Aadhaar and voter IDs but with certain supporting documents.The EC affidavit has justified its ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, saying it adds to the purity of the election by “weeding out ineligible persons” from the electoral rolls.
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