SC questions timing of Bihar voter list revision, not the exercise itself
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday raised serious concerns over the timing of the Election Commission's special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar, stating that while the process itself may be lawful, its execution so close to the upcoming Assembly elections risks disenfranchising eligible voters.
A bench headed by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia remarked, "Your exercise is not the problem... it is the timing." The court observed that voters whose names are omitted from the rolls during this revision may not have sufficient time to appeal or seek redress before the elections.
"There is nothing wrong in the exercise... except that a person will be disenfranchised ahead of the election and s/he won't have the time to defend the exclusion before voting," Justice Dhulia noted.
The court was hearing a petition challenging the Election Commission’s move, which requires voters registered after 2003 to re-verify their identities using documents from a specified list. The petitioners, represented by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayan, argued that the revision was "arbitrary" and "discriminative," particularly because it affects voters who have been on the rolls for over a decade.
Sankaranarayan contended that the list of acceptable identification documents excludes both Aadhaar, India’s widely-used biometric ID—and even the EC's own voter ID card. This, he argued, placed an undue burden on long-standing voters.
The Election Commission, in response, defended the 2003 cut-off, which was also upheld by the court, with the bench stating that the date "has a logic to it."
Despite this, the court expressed concern that voters unaware of the revision or unable to comply promptly may lose their right to vote in the upcoming elections.
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Man arrested with Rs 2.54-crore heroin in Mumbai
Mumbai (PTI): Police have arrested a man and seized over 500 grams of heroin worth Rs 2.54 crore in the illicit market from him in Mumbai, officials said on Friday.
The police's Anti-Narcotics Cell (ANC) made the drug seizure in Santacruz in the western suburbs. The operation was conducted by the Kandivali unit of the ANC on Thursday as part of a special crackdown against drug trafficking in the area, they said.
Acting on specific inputs, an ANC team conducted a raid in Santacruz (East) and intercepted a man. During a search, the team recovered 508 grams of high-grade heroin from his possession, an official said.
The seized contraband, a highly addictive, opioid drug derived from morphine, is estimated to be worth Rs 2.54 crore in the international market, he informed.
Following the seizure, a case was registered against the man under relevant sections of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act, 1985, and he was formally placed under arrest in the early hours of Friday.
The police are currently investigating the source of the drug and trying to identify the intended recipients of the consignment, he said.
