In a significant development in the Bihar SIR row, the Supreme Court, in its interim order ordered the Election Commission of India to make a searchable list of 65 lakh voter names deleted from the draft electoral roll public with the reason for deletion. The ECI has also been asked to publicise the deletions and reasons via television, radio and newspapers. According to the SC order, this list should be made public after the Special Intensive Revision Exercise.
The apex court also said that the district-wise deletion lists must be made available at the list of the Chief Electoral Officer. Also, the two judge Bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi asked the ECI to accept Aadhaar card as an acceptable document for the identity verification. The two judge bench is continuing its hearing on a batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.
What did the two judge bench said in the previous hearing?
In the previous hearing, Justice Joymalya Bagchi had summarised the petitioners’ argument that it was a battle between Constitutional entitlement and Constitutional right. According to the petitioner’s argument, the Election Commission did not have the right to decide on citizenship, nor de facto remove an elector for the list.
When was the draft roll published?
The draft roll was published on August 1, 2025. The final list is scheduled for release on September 30, amidst the allegations levied by the Opposition that the exercise will disenfranchise crores of eligible voters.
Bihar is all set to have its assembly elections this year but the Election Commission have not announced the dates for the same. Two EC statements cite “inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants,” “frequent migration,” young citizens becoming eligible to vote and non-reporting of deaths” as the reasons behind this special electoral rolls revision in Bihar.
Also read: Bihar SIR Hearing: Justice Surya Kant Tells ADR Counsel That It Is Only A Draft Exercise
