Patna/New Delhi, July 7: The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear on July 10 a batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the 2025 Assembly elections. The top court listed the matter after senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Gopal Sankaranarayanan and others mentioned the petitions for urgent hearing, warning that the process could disenfranchise millions of voters.
The petitioners include the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), RJD MP Manoj Jha, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, activist Yogendra Yadav, and others. They have raised concerns over the SIR’s timeline and execution, arguing that the revision is hasty, arbitrary, and risks stripping eligible citizens of their constitutional right to vote.
“The timeline is so strict, and by July 25, if you don’t submit the form, you will be out,” Singhvi told the bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi, pointing out that even those who have consistently voted in the past two decades could be removed from the rolls. Sibal added that with over 8 crore voters in Bihar, such a large-scale verification was unmanageable within the current timeframe.
Justice Dhulia, however, noted that the timeline did not yet carry finality, as elections had not been formally notified.
The Election Commission ordered the SIR on June 24 — the first such revision in Bihar since 2003 — citing rapid urbanisation, large-scale migration, increasing youth eligibility, non-reporting of deaths, and suspected inclusion of foreign nationals. The EC has said the drive aims to ensure only legitimate voters remain on the rolls.
The Commission clarified that voters can submit the required documents at any time before July 25, 2025, and those who fail to do so will still have an opportunity to file claims and objections. It also accused “a few persons” of spreading “incorrect and misleading statements” without reading the full SIR order.
Despite these clarifications, concerns persist. The ADR, in its PIL filed Saturday, called the EC’s order “arbitrary” and claimed it violated Articles 14, 19, 21, 325, and 326 of the Constitution, as well as provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The NGO urged the Supreme Court to immediately stay the SIR process, alleging that nearly 3 crore voters could be wrongly excluded.
RJD’s Manoj Jha also questioned the timing of the SIR, describing the move as “hasty” and unconstitutional. Mahua Moitra, in her plea, called for the EC’s order to be set aside entirely, while PUCL argued the process lacked transparency, clarity, and proportionality. Activist Yogendra Yadav termed the SIR “manifestly arbitrary and unreasonable.”
Meanwhile, the Bihar Chief Electoral Officer said the SIR process was progressing as per schedule, and that the draft electoral rolls would include all names for which enumeration forms had been submitted.
With high stakes ahead of the 2025 Assembly polls, the court’s hearing on Thursday is likely to shape the course of Bihar’s voter roll revision — and possibly influence the broader conversation on electoral reforms in India.
