‘Unconstitutional’: Pleas against Bihar voter list revision in Supreme Court court today
Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra is one of the petitioners against SIR exercise that asks electors to prove eligibility again as Bihar polls set for Oct-Nov
A bunch of petitions calling the Election Commission's revision of electoral rolls in Bihar “arbitrary” and “unconstitutional” are to come up in the Supreme Court on Thursday.
These include pleas filed by the transparency advocacy group Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), activist Yogendra Yadav, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, and some political parties.
The assembly elections in Bihar are set to be held in October-November.
Revisions in general have been carried out before across India.
However, Mahua Moitra and others contend that this SIR, as notified, is being done for the “very first time in the country”, where all electors are being asked to prove their eligibility again.
What's the Special Intensive Revision (SIR)?
It was on June 24 that the Election Commission of India (EC) announced a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter lists. The stated aim is to include all eligible voters and eliminate all ineligible voters.
The commission has justified this exercise citing rapid urbanisation and migration; addition of those who recently turned 18 or could not register earlier; and the under-reporting of deaths.
It also speaks of foreign illegal immigrants having become voters, which need to be removed.
Political parties, particularly those in opposition to the ruling BJP, have alleged this could remove a large number of eligible people for want of certain documents.
The EC's target for the draft electoral rolls is August 1, followed by objections and scrutiny.
What is the challenge to Bihar SIR?
Transparency group ADR and Swaraj Party's Yogendra Yadav have cited Article 32 of the Constitution while challenging the EC’s notification. It violates the universal right to adult suffrage, they contend.
The petitions note that the identification process shifts the “burden of proof” onto individual citizens, requiring fresh applications and documentary evidence of citizenship by July 25, 2025, the Supreme Court Observer reported.
The exercise excludes indicators like Aadhaar and ration cards and makes the proof of parents’ identity mandatory too, the petitioner note.
Their argument is that given Bihar’s high rates of migration and dispossession, such requirements for documents dating back decades can disenfranchise millions.
They also say that for the timeline to be met, the poll panel will need to train 1 lakh Block Level Oficers (BLOs). “All within the month… when Bihar is in the midst of the monsoon and floods! So, unless the ECI has a magic wand, we should expect a withdrawal of this order, drastic changes in the list of documents allowed (as announced on June 30) or a postponement of the Bihar assembly elections,” the ADR said in its petition, the Observer reported.
The petitions seek immediate stay on the SIR.
EC steadfast, cites Constitution
The poll panel, however, remains committed to its notification and timelines.
On July 9, it posted details about the SIR and Article 326 of the Constitution on its X account, which said voters could be “every person who is a citizen of India and who is not less than 18 years of age”, and “not other otherwise disqualified under the Constitution or any other law... on grounds of non-residence, unsoundness of mind, crime or corrupt or illegal practice”.
The EC has even claimed that over 57% of the 7.9 current voters have submitted the new enumeration forms, scrutiny of which shall now be carried out.
