The Supreme Court has heard petitions challenging ECI’s Bihar voter roll revision ahead of state polls. No interim relief granted; Court asserts power to act if irregularities are found.
New Delhi: Today, on July 28, the Supreme Court heard the batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) June 24, 2025 order that mandated a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar.
The hearing took place before a Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. While the matter was heard in detail, the Court has not passed any interim order yet and has reserved its directions until further submissions are complete.
Petitioners include civil society organisations such as the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), PUCL, and several political leaders like RJD MP Manoj Jha, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, and Congress leader K.C. Venugopal.
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankarnarayanan, representing ADR, informed the Court that all pleadings are complete and requested only 30 minutes to present final arguments.
The Court remarked,
“Include these two documents. Tomorrow you may see not only Aadhaar but out of 11 they can also be forged. That’s a separate issue. But we are [on] mass exclusion. It should be mass inclusion. Please include Aadhaar,”
Justice Surya Kant asked,
“How much time will final arguments take?”
and instructed all parties to provide a precise timeline so that the case can be scheduled on a non-miscellaneous day.
“We have a meeting with the CJI,”
Justice Kant noted, requesting efficiency.
Justice Kant also observed that the Court holds a
“prima facie view after reading the ECI affidavit which states the list of documents is not exhaustive and Aadhaar would be accepted based on court advice.”
On behalf of the ECI, Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi argued,
“Ration cards have large scale issues and cannot be accepted.”
He explained that though EPIC numbers are included in the pre-filled form,
“since the electoral rolls are revised, the EPIC card alone cannot be treated as conclusive.”
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Justice Kant commented,
“Any document including EPIC can be forged, so Aadhaar and EPIC should be accepted.”
Dwivedi responded,
“Aadhaar is being accepted but they are asking for one supporting document along with it.”
The Court emphasized the need to focus on inclusion rather than exclusion of voters.
The Bench said,
“Forgery is a separate issue but the focus should be on mass inclusion, not exclusion. Aadhaar must be included,”
The Bench asked the ECI to submit a clear schedule for arguments and indicated that the process would not be stayed for now. Sankarnarayanan urged,
“Please clarify that the roll cannot be finalised.”
To this, the Court responded,
“We have already said the process won’t be stayed. Just give us your timeline and we’ll list it at the earliest.”
Dwivedi countered,
“It’s only a draft. Objections can still be filed.”
Justice Kant asserted,
“That doesn’t take away our power. Trust us if we find anything wrong, we’ll quash it all. You be ready and give us a clear timeline.”
Sankarnarayanan stressed the importance of Court supervision, saying,
“Please record that the process is subject to your orders. Once the draft is out everyone verifies. This affects 4.5 crore people. The cutoff date is 2025 and the revision is for that.”
Justice Bagchi noted,
“As per ECI the draft list will include all names from the January 2025 roll, with objections noted.”
Justice Kant concluded,
“Submit your timelines before 10:30 AM tomorrow,” and added, “We are not passing any order today. Once we have the schedule I’ll see when we can make time. We’ll fix the date tomorrow.”
Background Of The Case
The Election Commission, defending its decision from June 24 to initiate the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, stated that all major political parties participated in the process and deployed over 150,000 booth-level agents to connect with eligible voters. However, these parties are now contesting the decision in the Supreme Court.
The Commission emphasized that the SIR enhances electoral integrity by “weeding out ineligible persons” from the electoral rolls, as detailed in an affidavit aimed at countering allegations from various petitioners, including political leaders and civil society members.
The Commission highlighted that “the entitlement to vote flows from Article 326 read with Sections 16 and 19 of the RP Act 1950 and Section 62 of the RP Act 1951,” which establish specific qualifications regarding citizenship, age, and residency.
It asserted that an ineligible person has no right to vote and cannot claim a violation of Articles 19 and 21.
In a counter-affidavit, the NGO ‘Association for Democratic Reforms,’ the lead petitioner in the case, argued that Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) possess broad and unchecked discretion, which could lead to the disenfranchisement of many voters in Bihar.
They warned that if the SIR order from June 24, 2025, is not set-aside, it could arbitrarily disenfranchise thousands, undermining free and fair elections and democracy, which are fundamental to the Constitution’s basic structure.
The NGO criticized the exclusion of Aadhaar and ration cards from acceptable documents in the SIR, calling the decision “patently absurd” and lacking a valid justification.
It also alleged that the SIR is being carried out in a way that constitutes a serious violation of voter rights, with reports indicating that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are signing enumeration forms themselves and that deceased individuals are listed as having completed forms.
Many voters have claimed their forms were submitted online without their knowledge or consent.
Furthermore, the NGO dismissed the Commission’s claim that the SIR addresses concerns raised by political parties, asserting that no political party had requested such a comprehensive revision.
The parties’ concerns were primarily about the addition of fictitious votes and the removal of legitimate votes favoring the opposition, not a complete overhaul of the electoral rolls.
Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha, a petitioner against the SIR, noted in his affidavit that there are reports of BLOs not visiting certain neighborhoods and allegedly forging signatures on voter forms.
He pointed out that this exercise marks a significant shift, as individuals are now required to provide documentary proof of citizenship to be eligible to vote.
Activist Yogendra Singh Yadav indicated that around 4 million voters could be at risk of removal from the electoral rolls due to the ongoing SIR in Bihar.
On July 10, a vacation bench led by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia instructed the Election Commission to accept Aadhaar, Voter ID, and ration cards as valid documents while allowing the ongoing exercise in Bihar, which includes over 70 million voters.
This is Bihar’s first such revision since 2003. The ECI has empowered Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to conduct door-to-door verification, supported by pre-filled enumeration forms.
Citizens can also submit their details online. To promote transparency, political parties are encouraged to appoint Booth Level Agents (BLAs) and participate actively in the process. Draft rolls will be released on 1 August 2025.
However, several petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court under Article 32, challenging the SIR’s legality.
Case Title:
ASSOCIATION FOR DEMOCRATIC REFORMS AND ORS. V ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA W.P.(C) No. 640/2025
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