Hyderabad, July 28 -- Supreme Court on Monday declined to intervene in the Election Commission's planned release of Bihar's preliminary voter list on August 1.

The two-judge panel of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi conducted a brief hearing, as Justice Kant needed to participate in a scheduled administrative discussion with the Chief Justice.

Petitioners' claim

Earlier, the petitioners claim the process could result in the mass deletion of legitimate voters and accuse the poll panel of launching a "drastic and rushed" exercise without adequate transparency. They argue that this revision may severely impact electoral participation and fairness.

In its defence, the EC has asserted that the SIR is a legitimate and necessary step ...