SC asks EC to furnish details of 65 lakh deleted voters in Bihar draft electoral rolls
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Wednesday asked the Election Commission to furnish by August 9 the details of around 65 lakh electors left out from the draft electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan and N Kotiswar Singh asked the counsel for the poll panel to furnish the details of deleted voters, the data which has been already shared with the political parties, and give a copy to the NGO, Association For Democratic Reforms.
The NGO, which has challenged the June 24 order of the Election Commission directing for Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, filed a fresh application seeking direction to the poll panel to publish the names of around 65 lakh deleted voters with the mention whether they are dead, permanently migrated or not considered for any other reason.
The bench told advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the NGO, that the reason for deletion would come in subsequent time as it is now only a draft list.
However, Bhushan contended that some political parties have been given a list of deleted voters but they have not further clarified whether the said voter is dead or migrated.
The bench told the ECI's counsel, "We will see every voter likely to be affected and get the required information. You (ECI) file a reply by Saturday and let Mr Bhushan look at it and then we can see what is disclosed and what is not disclosed."
Bhushan alleged that 75 percent of voters, who have filled the enumeration form have not furnished any supporting documents mentioned in the list of 11 documents and their names were included on the recommendation of Booth Level Officer (BLO) of the poll panel.
The bench said it is commencing hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the June 24 order of the poll panel on August 12 and the NGO can make these averments on that day.
Terming the Election Commission a constitutional authority deemed to act in accordance with law, the top court had said on July 29 that it will step in immediately if there is "mass exclusion" in the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar.
It had fixed a timeline for considering a batch of pleas challenging the Election Commission's SIR exercise in Bihar and said the hearing on the issue will be held on August 12 and 13.
Earlier, observing there should be "en masse inclusion" instead of "en masse exclusion” in the ongoing SIR exercise of voters' list in poll-bound Bihar, the top court asked the Election Commission to continue accepting Aadhaar and voter ID documents.
Underscoring the "presumption of genuineness" of the two documents, the top court also refused to stay the publication of the draft electoral roll in Bihar.
The draft roll was published on August 1 and the final roll on September 30 amid opposition claims that the ongoing exercise will deprive crores of eligible citizens from their right to vote.
On August 1, the poll panel came out with the much-anticipated 'draft electoral rolls' in Bihar, enlisting 7.24 crore voters but knocking off more than 65 lakh names, claiming that most of the persons concerned had died or migrated.
The draft electoral rolls, prepared as part of the SIR, which has caused much controversy as the exercise was ordered with just a few months left for assembly polls, are available for voters online.
The EC has said it was making available printed copies, district-wise, to representatives of political parties so that anomalies, if any, could be flagged during the 'claims and objections' phase, which would continue till September 1 before the 'final rolls' are published.
The reasons cited by the EC for non-inclusion of previously registered voters in the draft rolls included death (22.34 lakh), "permanently shifted/absent" (36.28 lakh) and "already enrolled (at more than one places)" (7.01 lakh).
The EC affidavit in the top court 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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'Homebound' makes it to Oscar shortlist for best international feature
Mumbai (PTI): Neeraj Ghaywan's much acclaimed "Homebound" is among the 15 films shortlisted in the best international feature category at the Oscars, moving a step close to the final five nominations and maybe a win.
The movie, inspired by a true story that became the basis of a news article during the pandemic, has been creating a global buzz since its debut in the Un Certain Regard category at the Cannes Film Festival this May.
Hollywood legend Martin Scorsese is a fan and has come onboard as an executive producer ahead of the award season.
Produced by Karan Johar and Adar Poonawalla, and starring Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor, "Homebound" is Ghaywan's second movie after "Masaan".
"Homebound" will compete for an Oscar nomination alongside Argentina's “Belén”, Brazil's “The Secret Agent”, French drama "It Was Just an Accident”, Germany's "Sound of Falling” and Iraq's "The President's Cake".
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The other movies in the shortlist include Japan's “Kokuho”, Jordan's “All That’s Left of You”, Norway's “Sentimental Value”, Palestine's “Palestine 36”, South Korean hit “No Other Choice”, Spain's “Sirat”, "Late Shift" from Switzerland, “Left-Handed Girl”from Taiwan and Tunisian drama “The Voice of Hind Rajab”, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced in a release on Tuesday.
The award for best foreign film, now re-categorised as best international feature, has so far eluded India.
Only three Indian films have received nominations in the category -- Mehmood Khan’s “Mother India”, Mira Nair’s “Salaam Bombay” and Ashutosh Gowarikar’s “Lagaan”. Deepa Mehta’s “Water”, starring John Abraham and Lisa Ray, also received a nomination but it was submitted from Canada.
Gujarati film "Chhello Show" in 2023 was the last film to get shortlisted.
Costume designer Bhanu Athaiya was the first Indian to get an Oscar, bagging the coveted prize in 1983 for the film "Gandhi". Other than her, A R Rahman, Resul Pukootty and M M Keeravani have also won individual Oscars.
Team "Homebound" celebrated the shortlist news with posts on social media.
"We made the shortlist... Way to go team Homebound'!" Johar shared in Instagram Stories.
In a post, the producer said it was difficult for him to articulate how "proud and elated" he was with the news.
"All of us @dharmamovies are privileged to have this proud and important film in our filmography... thank you @neeraj.ghaywan for making so many dreams of ours come true... from Cannes to being on the Oscar shortlist this has been such an overwhelming journey! Love to the entire cast and crew and teams of this special special film! Upwards and onwards...."
Ghaywan also shared the news on X.
"#Homebound has been shortlisted for Best International Feature Film at the 98th Academy Awards! We are deeply grateful for the extraordinary love and support we've received from around the world," he wrote on X with a special poster of the film.
Jethwa, who plays one of the two friends in the story opposite Ishaan Khatter, said the moment feels "surreal and incredibly humbling".
"To see 'Homebound' being shortlisted and progressing towards the Oscars is something I could have only dreamed of. I am deeply grateful for the love and support the film has received from audiences around the world," he said as he acknowledged Johar, Ghaywan and co-star Khatter and the rest of the team.
Khatter also shared the news on his Instagram stories and wrote, "Oscar ab dur nahi".
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"Homebound" is inspired by journalist Basharat Peer's The New York Times article “Taking Amrit Home”, also titled "A Friendship, a Pandemic and a Death Beside the Highway".
The film portrays the childhood friendship between a Muslim and Dalit who chase a police job that promises them the dignity they have long been denied due to their surnames.
The Academy on Tuesday also announced shortlists in 11 other categories, including the newly added casting Oscars, animated shorts, cinematography, documentary feature, documentary short, original score and song, sound and visual effects categories.
Nominations for the 98th Academy Awards will be announced on Thursday, January 22, 2026.
Twenty-four categories will be awarded at the 98th Oscars. Each category has five nominees, except for best picture, which has 10.
The 98th Oscars will be held on Sunday, March 15, 2026, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles.
