SIR claims can be filed after Sept 1 in Bihar, Election Commission tells Supreme Court

A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi also recorded a submission made by ECI through senior counsel Rakesh Dwivedi that claims and objections can be submitted even after the deadline of September 1 and that they will be considered after the electoral roll has been finalised.

“In light of this stand, let the filing of the claims/objections/corrections continue,” stated the bench, even as it did not formally extend the September 1 deadline by two weeks, as pressed by the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) in its plea.

The court also directed deployment of paralegal volunteers to bridge the gap in voter assistance. It requested the executive chairman of the Bihar State Legal Services Authority to issue directions by September 2 to notify paralegal volunteers at the district level, complete with names and mobile numbers, to help voters and parties file claims or objections online. These volunteers will route their reports through district judges, who will compile the data for the state legal services authority.