Today, On 6th August, Supreme Court tells ECI to submit a detailed reply by August 10 on deletion of 65 lakh names from Bihar draft voter list, saying, “We will ensure every affected voter is heard and considered.”
New Delhi: The Supreme Court directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to give its reply by Saturday, August 10, regarding serious complaints about irregularities in the deletion of nearly 65 lakh names from Bihar’s draft electoral rolls.
These deletions were made during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, and the draft list was officially published on August 1.
The Supreme Court bench, led by Justice Surya Kant, has also scheduled the next hearing on this matter for Monday, August 12.
The Court also asked the ECI to make it clear whether this draft list was shared with political parties before it was published.
Justice Kant stated,
“We will ensure that at least every voter who is likely to be affected…we will ensure that requisite information, whatever documents are required from him, those are duly considered. File a comprehensive reply. Not only political parties, there must be information with local administration also,”
The Court is set to hear the petitions contesting the Bihar SIR exercise on August 12.
Senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for the petitioner, told the Court that a huge number of names 65 lakh had been removed from the voters’ list, but the Election Commission did not provide any detailed explanation.
According to Bhushan, there was “no list of those who migrated, died, or were removed.”
He also pointed out that the recommendations made by the Booth Level Officers (BLOs), who play a key role in voter verification, were made public only in the case of “2 constituencies.”
Justice Surya Kant then referred to the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) that governs this process. He said that, according to the SOP, political party representatives must be given the electoral list at the block level.
Also Read: BREAKING| Bihar Voter List Row: SC to Hear Pleas Against EC’s Revision on July 10
At this point, Bhushan informed the Court that this was not followed.
He said,
“They have not conveyed. In case they have given to some political party, reasons are not given,”
Justice Surya Kant responded by clarifying that the current list released on August 1 was just a preliminary draft.
He said,
“It was only a preliminary list and that reasons will be given later at the time of the final list.”
The matter has now been listed for hearing on August 12, and the Election Commission is expected to respond in detail by August 10.
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 & Others vs. Election Commission of India
Case Number: I.A. in Writ Petition (Civil) No. 640 of 2025
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