Probe exclusion of displaced residents from voter list: SC

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Lucknow district election officer to examine and take remedial action on the grievances of 91 residents of Akbar Nagar in the state capital who were allegedly excluded from the Uttar Pradesh SIR of electoral rolls followingdemolition of their homes in September 2023. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was initially of the view that the matter, pertaining to the disputed facts relating to abode of the petitioners, cannot be looked into by it in a writ petition here. The bench, however, took note of the petition filed by one Sana Parveen and 90 others and asked the district election officer of Lucknow to enquire into the grievances and take remedial measures. It also granted liberty to the petitioners to approach the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court if they fail to get relief from the district election officer. The petitioners sought a direction to submit their enumeration forms to Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to ensure their right to vote is preserved despite their lack of a permanent address following the September 2023 demolition drive.

The petitioners said they were long-term residents of Akbar Nagar whose names had appeared in the voter lists as far back as 2002, with younger residents appearing in subsequent lists. However, following the demolition of “unauthorised” constructions in the area, a move previously upheld by the courts, they found themselves excluded from the UPSpecial Intensive Revision (SIR) process.