New Delhi, Aug. 23 -- The Supreme Court on Friday expressed dismay at the "inaction" of political parties in Bihar over the exclusion of nearly 6.5 million voters from draft electoral rolls, ordering the 12 recognised parties in the state to instruct their booth-level agents (BLAs) and party workers to actively assist excluded voters in filing claims and objections. A bench of justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi said it was "surprised" that despite appointing over 1.6 lakh BLAs, parties had filed only two objections since the draft rolls were published. "We are surprised at the inaction of political parties. What have they done after appointing BLAs? Why is there a distance between workers of political parties and voters? They know these people well," the bench remarked. The court directed the presidents or secretaries of all recognised parties in Bihar to file status reports by the next hearing, detailing steps taken to assist affected voters. "Somebody should be there to assist voters. Ultimately, it is their duty," emphasised the bench, impleading the 12 parties through their presidents and directing the chief electoral officer of Bihar to notify them to appear through counsel. "Our efforts should be that everyone gets to submit their forms before September 1. And for that, we will ask political parties to do their bit.If only the political parties would have realized their duties and assisted the voters, many problems could have been taken care of.We are directing all political parties to come forward and assist the voters. Ultimately, it is their duty. We will see how the response is till September 1. And if further directions are required, we will consider," observed the bench. These parties include all major parties in the state, including Janata Dal (United), Bharatiya Janata Party, Rashtriya Janata Dal and Congress. To ease the process, the bench clarified that those excluded can submit their claims using any of the 11 documents listed in the Election Commission of India's (ECI) June notification, "or Aadhaar" alone. It also made clear that physical submission of forms was not mandatory, as both individuals and BLAs could apply online before the September 1 deadline. "The entire exercise has to be voter friendly. We are only concerned about their rights," it emphasised. However, it clarified that "acceptance of forms will not be proof they are complete in all respects," and said booth-level officers (BLOs) must provide acknowledgements for all physical submissions. The court also asked ECI to consider uploading objections on its website to enhance transparency. The bench took note of ECI's submissions that if political parties used their ground-level presence, nearly 65,000 names could be verified each day, allowing the process to be completed in just four to five days. The matter has been listed on September 8, with the court making clear that any shortfall in party participation will invite closer scrutiny. During the Friday hearing on petitions alleging large-scale deletions during the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for ECI, told the bench that the poll panel had complied with the court's August 14 order "in letter and spirit." He highlighted that 84,305 claims for wrongful exclusions and 2.63 lakh applications from new voters had already been received from individuals. "Only two objections have been filed by political parties after publication of the draft electoral roll on August 1. This means voters are more aware than the parties," Dwivedi said, adding that 2.2 million deletions were due to deaths, 3.3 million due to change of residence, and 0.7 million due to duplicate entries. He insisted that no eligible voter would be left out, as electoral registration officers (EROs) were bound to pass reasoned orders before rejecting any claim. "Please, give us time and let us work. We assure you nobody eligible is excluded," Dwivedi urged. Appearing for NGOs, opposition parties and political leaders, senior counsel including senior counsel Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi and Gopal Sankaranarayanan, along with advocates Prashant Bhushan, Vrinda Grover and Fauzia Shakil argued that the timeline for claims should be extended and insisted Aadhaar alone must be accepted without requiring additional documents. "Anyone left out of the draft roll has to submit Form 6, which is meant for new voters and requires additional documents beyond Aadhaar. That's impractical," Bhushan contended. Sankaranarayanan added that voters were being asked for extra documents and declarations, despite Aadhaar's sufficiency. The bench, clarifying the confusion, maintained that voters may submit forms "with whatever documents they have," including Aadhaar, and stressed that all claims must be considered in accordance with law. Friday's hearing followed the ECI's compliance affidavit filed a day earlier, in which it said it had published booth-wise lists of all 6.5 million excluded voters on the websites of Bihar's 38 district election officers and the chief electoral officer, along with reasons for exclusion -- death, migration or duplication. The Commission said these lists were also displayed in panchayat offices and shared with booth-level officer (BLOs) and BLAs, while a publicity drive was carried out through newspapers, radio, social media and notices at block and village offices. "Aggrieved persons may submit their claims along with a copy of their Aadhaar card," the affidavit stated. On August 14, the Supreme Court had made it clear that electoral roll preparation was "not a mere administrative formality but a process with direct implications for a citizen's franchise." It had directed ECI to publish exclusion lists in a searchable, voter-friendly format and to accept Aadhaar as valid proof for claims. The controversy over SIR has snowballed into a political flashpoint ahead of the Bihar assembly elections later this year. Opposition parties in the INDIA bloc have accused ECI of seeking to disenfranchise millions of voters and warned that the exercise could be replicated nationally. ECI, however, has defended the revision, saying Bihar's rolls had not undergone intensive updating in nearly two decades. "It would be more constructive if parties came forward and helped genuine voters instead of staging demonstrations," Dwivedi said in court on Friday....