Today, On 9th October, In the Bihar SIR Row, Supreme Court orders activation of para-legal volunteers and legal service lawyers to assist 3.66 lakh voters deleted from Bihar electoral rolls. Authorities urged to help affected citizens file statutory appeals before the last date.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court addressed petition concerning deletions from the final Bihar voter list, highlighting transparency issues in the Election Commission’s processes and ordering deployment of legal aid to affected voters.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi is hearing the case.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the Rashtriya Janta Dal, raised concerns over voters being suddenly removed from the electoral rolls and questioned the EC’s transparency in data handling.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan pointed out that several individuals who were in the draft voter list suddenly found themselves missing from the final list.
He stated,
“People who were in the draft roll suddenly do not find themselves in the final list. People deleted from the final list have not been given individual orders of deletion.”
Justice Kant responded, suggesting that such individuals could approach district legal service authorities for assistance.
Prashant Bhushan further explained that the affidavit regarding a person who claims he was deleted from the roll was received from responsible quarters.
He suggested,
“Legal authorities could go and verify the address.”
Justice Joymalya Bagchi emphasized accountability, stating,
“There should be some responsibility when handing over documents to the court.”
Justice Kant added that “the person is not found at the address.”
Challenging the Election Commission, Prashant Bhushan said,
“Why is the EC shying from giving the separate list of over 21 lakh add-on voters and 3.66 lakh deleted voters? Why is the EC not providing this info in a machine-readable format?”
He added,
“Some names given in the final list are ‘gibberish’. The text in the final list is not accessible. The EC has the technology to disaggregate data, but it is not being used.”
Justice Bagchi asked the petitioners to produce evidence of violations, stating,
“People should file appeals citing violation of principles of natural justice. Show us at least one such appeal.”
Justice Kant reinforced the need for clarity in EC orders, stating that the commission’s directive on any appeal “cannot be a cryptic one-liner.”
Noting that the last date for filing appeals is approaching, the Supreme Court passed an order requesting the Bihar State Legal Services Chairperson to activate para-legal volunteers and State legal services lawyers. T
his will help voters who were allegedly deleted from the electoral roll file their statutory appeals.
The court addressed concerns that many among the 3.66 lakh voters removed from the final list were not given individual orders of deletion, an assertion strongly refuted by the Election Commission.
Earlier, On July 10, the Bench instructed the ECI to accept Aadhaar cards, ration cards, and EPICs as valid forms of identification for voter inclusion. Subsequently, it permitted the publication of the draft electoral rolls on August 1, while cautioning that it would step in if there were instances of “mass exclusion.”
Earlier, On September 8, the court had ordered the Election Commission to accept Aadhaar as proof of identity, adding it to the list of 11 other acceptable documents.
However, it clarified that Aadhaar could not be used to prove citizenship. On Monday, the bench issued a notice regarding the petition for modification and scheduled October 7 for final arguments on the legitimacy of the SIR process.
Earlier, On August 6, the Court learned that 6.5 million names were removed from the draft electoral roll published on August 1. The ECI assured the Court that no names would be removed without prior notice, an opportunity for a hearing, and a reasoned order from the appropriate authority.
The Election Commission of India (ECI), On 24 June 2025, started a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar before the Assembly elections. Under this process, voters were asked to provide updated documents, but many citizens did not have them.
Opposition parties and several NGOs criticised this move, saying it could deprive a large number of genuine voters of their right to vote. They approached the Supreme Court (SC), calling the ECI’s action arbitrary and against the Constitution.
Leader of the Opposition Rahul Gandhi, along with others such as RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav, participated in a Voter Adhikar Yatra in Bihar to protest what they describe as widespread vote theft aimed at benefiting the BJP, allegedly in collusion with the Election Commission.
The Opposition contends that the Bihar SIR is a significant part of this scheme.
The Commission, On 1 August 2025, released the draft electoral roll, which showed a total of 7.24 crore registered voters. At the same time, around 65 lakh names were removed from the list.
Petitioners, including the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), requested the Supreme Court to order the ECI to make public the full list of voters whose names were dropped, along with the reasons for each deletion. They said that without such transparency, many citizens might lose their right to vote without being given a fair chance to object.
Case Title: ASSOCIATION FOR DEMOCRATIC REFORMS AND ORS. Versus ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA, W.P.(C) No. 640/2025 (and connected cases)
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