Supreme Court Warns of Immediate Intervention if Mass Voter Exclusion Occurs in Bihar SIR

New Delhi — The Supreme Court on Tuesday said it would “immediately step in” if there is any mass exclusion of voters following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.

The observation came from a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, while hearing a batch of petitions that challenge the June 26 directive of the Election Commission of India (ECI) to conduct the SIR. The petitioners argued that the move could lead to the arbitrary and unlawful disenfranchisement of lakhs of voters, threatening the integrity of elections and democracy itself.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioners, pointed to a statement from the ECI noting that 65 lakh individuals had not submitted enumeration forms—many reportedly deceased or permanently relocated.

Reassuring the petitioners, the bench said, “We are here and will hear your concerns. We are overseeing the matter as a judicial authority. If mass exclusion happens, we will step in immediately.” The court scheduled further hearings on the matter for August 12 and 13.

The bench emphasized that the ECI, as a constitutional body, is expected to act lawfully and in line with the Constitution.

On Monday, the court had refused to stay the publication of the draft electoral rolls, but directed the ECI to rely on more reliable identity documents such as Aadhaar and Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) for voter verification.

Responding to ECI counsel Rakesh Dwivedi, who raised concerns about fake ration cards, the court remarked: “Ration cards can be easily forged, but Aadhaar and voter ID cards carry more legitimacy and are presumed genuine. Proceed using these two documents. In case of forgery, deal with it case by case.”

According to the ECI’s SIR timeline, all electors who submitted enumeration forms—whether or not they attached supporting documents—will be included in the draft roll, which is set to be published on August 1.

Electors who did not submit forms can still apply for inclusion in the final electoral roll by submitting a claim form along with the necessary documents. This claims period will remain open until September 1, 2025.

The final electoral roll will be published on September 30, the ECI said in its affidavit. Additionally, the Commission stated that new voters can still register up to the last date for filing nominations for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.

With inputs from IANS