New Delhi [India], August 17 (HBTV): Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday reiterated that the machine-readable voter list is prohibited, pointing to a 2019 decision of the Election Commission that followed a Supreme Court ruling on the matter.

Addressing the media in New Delhi, CEC Kumar said, “The machine-readable voter list is prohibited. This decision of the Election Commission is after the judgment of the Supreme Court and is from 2019.”

Clarifying the distinction, he explained that while a searchable voter list is available on the Election Commission website — where voters can look up details using their EPIC number and download the list — this does not qualify as machine-readable. “In 2019, the Supreme Court studied the issue in depth and found that giving a machine-readable electoral roll can violate the privacy of the voter,” he added.

The statement comes amid opposition criticism over the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, a poll-bound state.

Emphasising transparency, CEC Kumar said, “The truth is that step by step, all stakeholders are working hard to make the SIR of Bihar a complete success. When more than seven crore voters of Bihar are standing with the Election Commission, then no question can be raised on its credibility or that of the voters.”

He assured that the Commission’s doors remain open for all parties and stakeholders. “At the ground level, all voters, political parties, and booth-level officers are working together in a transparent manner, verifying, signing, and even giving video testimonials. It is concerning that verified documents and testimonials from district presidents of political parties and BLOs nominated by them are either not reaching their state or national leaders, or attempts are being made to spread confusion by ignoring the ground reality,” he said.

Kumar further informed that about 1.6 lakh Booth Level Agents (BLAs) were engaged in preparing the draft voter list in Bihar. So far, voters have submitted 28,370 claims and objections. “As the draft list was being prepared in every booth, the BLAs of all political parties verified it with their signatures,” he added.

(ANI)