Today, On 1st September, In Bihar SIR, the Supreme Court remarked, “Trust deficit between Election Commission and political parties is unfortunate,” while directing the State Legal Services Authority to appoint para-legal volunteers to help voters and ensure transparency in electoral roll claims and objections.
The Supreme Court remarked today that the “trust deficit between the Election Commission and political parties in Bihar is unfortunate”, while extending the deadline for submitting objections to the draft voter list created after the Special Intensive Revision in the state, which is preparing for elections.
Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi were addressing requests for an extension of the September 1 deadline for filing objections.
Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Election Commission, stated that the people of Bihar do not oppose the Special Intensive Revision; only the petitioners seem to have concerns.
The Commission informed the bench that most applications received are requests to remove names from the voter list, with significantly fewer requests for inclusion.
While petitioners claimed that the “lack of transparency” in the process is a major issue, the Election Commission attributed the problem to a “mindset” aimed at “disruption.”
The Commission cautioned that extending the deadline could jeopardize the entire schedule for finalizing the voter list before the elections, suggesting that postponement would lead to an endless review process.
Justice Kant highlighted the “unfortunate trust deficit” between the election authority and political parties, proposing that volunteers from the district legal services authority could assist in the matter.
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the petitioner Association for Democratic Reforms, emphasized the transparency issue, to which Mr. Dwivedi responded, “Problem is with mindset to disrupt.”
The court has now extended the deadline to September 15.
The court’s comments regarding the “trust deficit” hold particular significance in light of the political climate, with Opposition parties accusing the Election Commission of colluding with the ruling BJP to manipulate the electoral process.
The Commission has dismissed these claims, while the BJP contends that the Opposition, led by Congress, is frustrated by its electoral defeats and is now targeting the election body.
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.
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)
Read Attachment
Click Here to Read Previous Reports on Bihar SIR Row