Supreme Court to Hear Pleas Against Bihar Electoral Roll Revision on July 10

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear multiple petitions challenging the Election Commission of India's (ECI) decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar, a state headed for elections. The hearing is scheduled for July 10.

A bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi took note of urgent requests from a group of senior lawyers, including Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, and Shadan Farasat, who pressed for an immediate listing of the matter.

The petitions argue that the ECI's June 26 order for revising Bihar's voter rolls could result in the arbitrary and unconstitutional disenfranchisement of lakhs of voters, thereby undermining free and fair elections, which are considered part of the Constitution's basic structure.

Among the petitioners is Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra, who has raised concerns that the ECI’s move could set a precedent for similar revisions in other states, including West Bengal. Moitra urged the Supreme Court to restrain the Election Commission from initiating similar voter roll revisions elsewhere in the country.

In her petition, filed through advocate Neha Rathi, Moitra claimed that this is the first time in the country’s history that voters already listed in the rolls—many of whom have participated in multiple elections—are being asked to re-establish their eligibility through documentation.

According to the petition, asking existing voters to again prove their eligibility is "absurd," given that they have already exercised their right to vote in past Assembly and general elections based on the same eligibility criteria.

Meanwhile, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar defended the ECI's move, stating that widespread concerns were raised by political representatives in Bihar regarding the accuracy of the electoral rolls, prompting the decision for a large-scale revision.

“Over the past four months, all 4,123 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 775 District Election Officers (DEOs), and 36 Chief Electoral Officers (CEOs) have conducted nearly 5,000 meetings with 28,000 political party representatives. The ECI also invited all recognized political parties for discussions. Across the board, dissatisfaction with the current state of the voter rolls was expressed for various reasons,” the CEC said.

With inputs from IANS