Today, On 22nd August, in the Bihar SIR Row, The Supreme Court said the Election Commission must accept Aadhaar as valid proof for inclusion in the voter list, stressing that voters should not be deprived of their rights due to rigid documentation rules.
New Delhi: The Supreme Court heard a batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India’s June 24, 2025 order directing a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, only months ahead of the state assembly elections.
The Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi heard the matter.
The Supreme Court sated,
“Voters in Bihar who are contesting their exclusion from the electoral roll ahead of this year’s elections can use Aadhaar as proof of residence,”
The court directed the Election Commission to include this government-issued ID among a list of 11 acceptable forms of identification.
During the hearing of petitions regarding the ‘special intensive revision’ of the voter list, the court confirmed that applications for re-inclusion could be submitted using any of the 11 forms of ID or Aadhaar.
The court also expressed strong criticism of political parties in Bihar, questioning why they had not supported the over 6.5 million voters who had been removed from the list, especially since many parties claimed the revision was intended to disenfranchise their traditional voter bases.
Reflecting the Election Commission’s observation that objections had been raised by individual politicians, including MPs and MLAs, rather than by the parties themselves,the court remarked,
“Political parties are not doing their jobs…”
The apex court added,
“What are your BLAs (booth-level agents) doing? Political parties must help voters.”
Earlier, on 14th August, The Supreme Court announced during Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) case, that individuals whose names have been removed from the state’s voter lists can use their Aadhaar cards to contest this deletion.
Previously, the Election Commission had resisted accepting Aadhaar as valid, arguing that while it serves as proof of identity, it does not confirm citizenship.
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.
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)
Click Here to Read Previous Reports on Bihar SIR Row
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