EC says those aggrieved at being left out of draft Bihar voter list can file claims using Aadhaar

The Election Commission on Tuesday said that those aggrieved at being left out of the draft voters’ list in Bihar after the special intensive revision exercise can file claims using their Aadhaar cards.

This comes after the Supreme Court on August 14 directed the poll panel to specify in public notices that persons excluded from the draft list released on August 1 can furnish their Aadhaar cards at the time of submitting their claims for inclusion in the final list.

The document was not among the poll body’s 11 accepted proofs of identity. Several petitioners had objected to the exclusion of Aadhaar, the most widely held ID, from the list of permissible documents, calling it “absurd”.

In a notice on Tuesday, the Election Commission said that the list of names not included in the draft list, along with the reasons for the deletion, is displayed on the websites of the district election officers and the chief electoral officers in a searchable mode with an Electors Photo Identification Card number.

“Aggrieved persons may submit their claims along with a copy of their Aadhar card,” the notice said.

A day earlier, Bihar Chief Electoral Officer Vinod Singh Gunjiyal also said in a notice that the list of voters excluded from the draft list had been displayed at...

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