Political activist Yogendra Yadav on Tuesday produced before the Supreme Court bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi two persons who were allegedly declared “dead” in the Election Commission’s special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.

“We are witnessing the largest exercise of disenfranchisement in the history of the world,” Yadav told the apex court.

“Sixty-five lakh names deleted. Never in the history of India it has never happened,” Yadav said in his argument. “The figure [of excluded voters] is bound to cross one crore. This is not an issue of revision. Please see them. They are declared as dead. They don’t appear. But they are alive. See them.”

The apex court had sought the Election Commission’s response to a plea filed before the court to direct the poll panel to disclose the details of the 65 lakh voters whose names were deleted from the draft electoral roll in Bihar after the SIR.

Yadav is one of the petitioners in the case.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, taken aback with the sudden appearance of two “dead” voters, exclaimed: “What is this drama?”

In his argument, Yadav said the process of exclusion of voters has already started in Bihar and if extended it would generate the same result in any part of the country.

“Vast exclusion has already begun. Exclusion is much more than 65 lakhs. This is not a failure of implementation of SIR but because of the fact that wherever you implement SIR the result will be the same. Presumption that Bihar’s voter list was inflated and needed correction was wrong,” Yadav argued.

When Justice Kant asked if an impact study was done in 2003 when the SIR was last conducted by the central poll panel, Yadav replied: “There was no comparison done ever. Never in the history of this country has [it] asked all people to submit their forms in revision exercise. If it was done in 2003, the other side [EC] should point it out.”

Yadav added this was the first time in India’s electoral history that a revision has been done with zero additions to the voter list.

“What was special in 2003 was that SIR was done apart from the word ‘intensive’ being used. This is the first exercise in the history of the country where revision has taken place with zero additions. Zero additions,” Yadav said, repeating for emphasis.

Justice Bagchi said the two men being declared dead may have been an “inadvertent error”.

"Can be corrected. But your points are well taken," the judge said, as quoted by legal news website Bar and Bench.

Yadav said names of 31 lakh female voters and 25 lakh male voters have been deleted from the draft rolls.

“This was an exercise in intensive deletion. They went across the state and did not find out a single addition,” he said. “When I appeal… It is decided after the list is frozen and then best of luck for five years. This is dreadful.”

Yadav also pointed out that the electoral registration officers (ERO) in Bihar are overworked right now.

“I have never heard of legal orders being changed by press releases. According to EC all these 7.24 crore forms will have to be scrutinised. EC handbook says 4,600 forms will be tallied by ERO every single day. He also happens to be the BDO and there are floods in Bihar now,” Yadav said.

In its live coverage of the hearing, Bar and Bench quoted Justice Kant as saying: “Some issues require remedial measures...if you have taken, very well. If not, we will see. Thank you Mr Yadav, you have given excellent analysis. Thank you for your assistance.”

The hearing will continue on Wednesday.