The Indian Supreme Court is currently hearing petitions filed by various political leaders and members of civil society challenging the special in-depth revision of the voter list by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in Bihar.
The case is being considered by a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi.
The petitions have been filed by prominent opposition leaders Mahua Moitra (Trinamool Congress), Manoj Kumar Jha (Rashtriya Janata Dal) and KC Venugopal (Indian National Congress), Supriya Sule (Nationalist Congress Party - SP), D Raja (Communist Party of India), Harinder Malik (Samajwadi Party), Arvind Sawant (Shiv Sena - UBT), Sarfaraz Ahmed (Jharkhand Mukti Morcha) and Dipankar Bhattacharya (CPI-ML Liberation). The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) is also among the petitioners.
Read also: All Opposition Party Leaders Move Supreme Court Against Bihar Voter List Revision
In addition, prominent civil society organisations and activists have also joined the legal challenge. These include the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), the People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) and political activist Yogendra Yadav.
The petitioners argue, "The Election Commission's move to conduct a special deep revision in Bihar just before the elections has raised serious concerns about transparency and legitimacy."
Read also: Supreme Court Stays Goa Sports Authority's Coach Selection After Woman Alleges Bias in Test
Parallel to these petitions, a public interest litigation (PIL) has also been filed urging the court to make revision of voter list mandatory before every election to maintain accuracy and prevent manipulation or boycott.
The bench will hear all the related petitions together: "All matters relating to Voter List Bihar revision will be considered collectively," the court remarked.
The hearing is still on and all eyes are on the apex court's stand regarding the Election Commission's voter list revision process in a politically sensitive state like Bihar.
Read also: Why Supreme Court Rejected MBBS Student's Plea Against Termination of Admission, Then Sent to High Court
Note: Stay tuned to our page for further legal progress in this matter and any directions issued by the Supreme Court.