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Supreme Court to hear petitions challenging the Bihar voter list revision today, with petitioners calling the move ‘unconstitutional’. Stay updated on this crucial legal battle.
Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra joins petitioners challenging the SIR exercise requiring voters to re-verify their eligibility ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections scheduled for October-November.
Several petitions challenging the Election Commission’s revision of electoral rolls in Bihar—calling it ‘arbitrary’ and ‘unconstitutional’—are scheduled to be heard by the Supreme Court on Thursday.
These petitions have been filed by the transparency advocacy group Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), activist Yogendra Yadav, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, along with several political parties.
The Bihar assembly elections are scheduled for October-November.
While revisions of electoral rolls have been conducted before across India, Mahua Moitra and others argue that this Special Summary Revision (SIR), as notified, is unprecedented. They claim this is the first time in the country that all voters are being asked to re-verify their eligibility.
An agitator is detained during a protest by Congress workers and supporters near a railway station in Patna on July 9, amid the ‘Bihar Bandh’ called by the INDIA bloc against the Special Intensive Revision of voter lists in the state.
The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) refers to a focused exercise undertaken by the Election Commission of India (ECI) to update the voter lists. Announced on June 24, this revision aims to ensure that all eligible voters are included, while removing the names of ineligible voters from the electoral rolls.
The commission has defended this exercise by pointing to factors such as rapid urbanisation and migration, the inclusion of individuals who recently turned 18 or missed earlier registration, and cases of under-reported deaths.
It has also highlighted concerns about foreign illegal immigrants who may have been added to the voter list and now need to be removed.
Opposition political parties have raised concerns that this move could potentially exclude a large number of eligible voters due to the lack of specific documents.
The Election Commission aims to publish the draft electoral rolls by August 1, after which a period for filing objections and conducting scrutiny will follow.Transparency watchdog ADR and Swaraj Party’s Yogendra Yadav have invoked Article 32 of the Constitution to challenge the Election Commission’s notification. They argue that it infringes upon the universal right to adult suffrage.
According to reports by the Supreme Court Observer, the petitions highlight that the new identification process unfairly shifts the burden of proof onto citizens, compelling them to file fresh applications and submit documentary proof of citizenship by July 25, 2025.
The petitioners pointed out that the exercise excludes crucial identity indicators like Aadhaar and ration cards, and also makes it mandatory to provide proof of parents’ identity. They argue that, considering Bihar’s high levels of migration and displacement, demanding documents dating back decades could end up disenfranchising millions of people.
The petitions argue that meeting the timeline would require the Election Commission to train nearly 1 lakh Block Level Officers (BLOs)—and all of this within a month, during Bihar’s peak monsoon and flood season.
“Unless the ECI has a magic wand, we are likely to see either a withdrawal of this order, major changes in the list of accepted documents (as announced on June 30), or even a postponement of the Bihar assembly elections,” the ADR stated in its petition, as reported by The Observer.
On July 9, it shared details about the SIR and Article 326 of the Constitution on its X account, stating that voters include “every citizen of India who is at least 18 years old” and “not otherwise disqualified under the Constitution or any law on grounds such as non-residence, unsoundness of mind, criminal offenses, or corrupt and illegal practices.
According to the Election Commission, over 57% of the 7.9 crore current voters have already submitted the new enumeration forms, which will now undergo scrutiny.
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