NEW DELHI, July 10 — The Supreme Court on Thursday upheld the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) constitutional authority to revise electoral rolls but sharply questioned the timing of its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive in poll-bound Bihar, warning it touched the very “root of democracy and power to vote.”
Hearing a batch of over ten petitions—including those filed by opposition leaders and civil society groups—the bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi said the concerns surrounding the exclusion criteria and the use of documents like Aadhaar warranted deeper scrutiny.
“If you are to check citizenship under the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, then you should have acted early. It is a bit late,” observed Justice Dhulia, questioning the poll panel’s urgency ahead of state elections. The bench, however, dismissed claims that the ECI lacked the authority to conduct such a revision, clarifying that it was empowered by the Constitution.
During the hearing, the court asked the ECI to respond to three key questions raised by petitioners, including MPs from Congress, Trinamool Congress, RJD, Shiv Sena (UBT), CPI, and other opposition parties. These queries relate to the legal basis of the revision, the exclusion of certain identity proofs, and the timing of the exercise.
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing one of the petitioners, said that while electoral roll revisions are permissible under the Representation of the People Act, the scale and method of the current SIR—impacting nearly 7.9 crore citizens—required safeguards. He argued that voter ID and Aadhaar were being dismissed without adequate alternatives.
Representing the ECI, advocate Amit Dwivedi defended the exercise under Article 326 of the Constitution, arguing, “Every voter has to be an Indian citizen, and Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship.” He also insisted that the ECI must be allowed to revise the rolls periodically. “If not the ECI, then who has the mandate to do so?” he asked the court.
The court questioned the ECI’s reference to citizenship, noting that the issue fell within the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs. Justice Bagchi added that Aadhaar’s exclusion as a supporting document, without clarifying alternatives, had created confusion.
Despite the concerns raised, the poll panel assured the court that no voter would be excluded from the rolls without being given a fair hearing. “Due process will be followed before any name is removed,” Dwivedi said.
The petitioners, including NGO ‘Association for Democratic Reforms’ and several prominent MPs such as RJD’s Manoj Jha, TMC’s Mahua Moitra, Congress’ KC Venugopal, and CPI’s D Raja, have sought the quashing of the EC order to conduct the SIR in Bihar ahead of the elections.
The hearing is expected to continue next week as the Supreme Court seeks further clarification on the ECI’s timeline, safeguards, and procedural checks.
Read more: Now Moitra, Yadav, PUCL Move SC Against Bihar Voter Roll Revision
