MEERUT: The Supreme Court has received a public interest litigation (PIL) against alleged manipulations in the electoral roll in districts across Uttar Pradesh. An NGO, Samvidhan Bachao Trust, has challenged these purported alterations, claiming discrepancies in voter verification reports in the state. They asserted that these discrepancies have affected the voting rights of thousands of people."The number of deleted voters surpasses the total count of deceased or relocated individuals," said the trust after their scrutiny of documents obtained through Right to Information (RTI) Act. Additionally, theyve noted a concerning disparity in the enrollment of young voters. The petition also raises concerns about the failure to remove duplicate entries from the voter list.A three-judge SC bench, led by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud, acknowledged the petitions significance. Theyve called for insights from the Election Commission. This comes after the petition highlighted the lack of action by the Commission regarding the verification of duplicate entries.Number of deleted voters surpasses total count of deceased individualsBefore the court decides to proceed in the matter, it would be appropriate if we direct that a copy of the Petition be served on Amit Sharma, Standing Counsel for the Election Commission of India," the order said.Raj Kumar, an advocate and head of Samvidhan Bachao Trust, has pointed out discrepancies across almost all 75 districts of Uttar Pradesh. He provided specific examples, such as figures from the verification of the electoral roll in Bulandshahr, where the numbers appear highly irregular. Similar anomalies are reported in other districts like Varanasi.He said the problem is not confined to just UP, but persists in other states as well - he has the similar data of other states like Delhi, Tripura, etc. Raj Kumar said, "In Bulandshahr, the inspection of voters uncovered something perplexing. While they found over 21,000 voters who had either moved or passed away, the removal of voter names from the list exceeded this count. Its baffling because there were more names deleted than the total number of individuals who were either shifted or deceased. To add to this, the addition of young voters - those aged between 18 and 19 - was significantly lower than what was initially estimated. It appears that only a fraction of the expected number was actually included on the voter list during the door-to-door verification."He added, "The situation in Varanasi echoes similar discrepancies. Despite identifying over 3,000 voters who had either moved or were no longer alive, the tally of names removed from the voter registry far surpassed this count. Moreover, the actual count of newly enrolled voters in the 18-19 age group was notably lower than the anticipated figure. This issue seems to be a recurring problem across various districts in Uttar Pradesh, raising concerns about the accuracy and integrity of the voter registration process.""Hence this PIL Writ Petition is being filed in this Hon ble Court under Article 32 of the Constitution of India mainly for issuance of suitable directions to the Election Commission of India for preparation of accurate electoral roll for holding the Parliament Election, 2024 as provided under Article 324 of the Constitution of India," Raj Kumar said.The PIL seeks to ensure the preparation of an accurate electoral roll for the upcoming 2024 Parliament election. It emphasizes the need for the deletion of multiple/duplicate names, inclusion of shifted voters in the list, and adherence to guidelines to safeguard the constitutional rights of voters.The next hearing on this matter is scheduled for November 28.

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