ECI told the Supreme Court it is not legally required to publish a separate list of excluded voters or reasons for their exclusion in Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision. The poll body called the petitioner’s claims “patently false and erroneous.”
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India (ECI) has told the Supreme Court that there is no law requiring it to prepare or publish a separate list of voters who are excluded from the draft electoral rolls or to give reasons for their exclusion during the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
In its reply to petitions challenging the SIR process in Bihar, Deputy Election Commissioner Sanjay Kumar said that under the Representation of People Act, 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, the ECI is not required to make or share a separate list of people who are not included in the draft electoral rolls. It is also not required to publish the reasons for non-inclusion of any person in the draft rolls.
The affidavit explained that the draft rolls published on August 1 contained the names of all those whose enumeration forms had been received.
People whose names were missing can still apply for inclusion by submitting Form 6 with the prescribed declaration by September 1. After this, the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) will hold hearings and provide reasons if any inclusion is challenged.
The Commission also stated that before publishing the draft rolls, it had already shared booth-level lists of voters whose forms were not received with recognised political parties, through their district presidents and booth-level agents.
These lists were given before the draft rolls came out. Updated lists were later provided after political parties reported the results of their outreach efforts. The ECI added that this process was clearly described in a press note issued on July 27.
The affidavit was filed in response to a petition by the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which had objected to the SIR process ahead of the Bihar assembly elections.
ADR claimed that the ECI had done away with the earlier practice of publishing a list of deleted electors and was not providing the number of deletions or additions to the electoral roll.
The ADR petition also pointed out that in at least two districts — Darbhanga and Kaimur — Booth Level Officers (BLOs) had “not recommended” many voters for inclusion, even though their enumeration forms were uploaded.
The ECI rejected these claims in strong words, calling the petitioner’s statements
“patently false and erroneous”.
It clarified that voters can easily check the status of their enumeration form online using their EPIC number and the contact details of the relevant BLO. The affidavit specifically stated:
“…the Petitioner asserts that this list does not contain the reasons for non-submission of Enumeration Forms. It is submitted that the aforesaid assertion is patently false and erroneous. The said assertion is yet another attempt made by the Petitioner to mislead and prejudice this Hon’ble Court.”
On the accusation that the ECI had deviated from past practice, the Commission explained that the petitioner had used a final electoral roll from 2024 as a reference. It said that reasons for deletion are only shown in the final rolls after claims and objections are decided, not in the draft rolls.
Regarding the “not recommended by BLO” remark, the ECI clarified that this was just an administrative tool for scrutiny and had no impact on a voter’s eligibility. It is still subject to verification by registration officers.
The Commission urged the Supreme Court to dismiss the application, impose costs, and even initiate contempt proceedings against the petitioner for allegedly making false statements to mislead the court.
In a separate affidavit, the ECI assured the Supreme Court that
“no name will be struck off from Bihar’s draft electoral roll without prior notice, an opportunity to be heard, and a reasoned order from the competent authority.”
The SIR, announced on June 24, is the first such revision in Bihar since 2003. Petitions from ADR, the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), and others are challenging the process, saying it violates constitutional provisions and election laws.
On July 10, the Supreme Court had refused to stop the revision but directed the ECI to allow Aadhaar, EPIC, and ration cards as valid documents for voter verification. The matter is now scheduled to be heard on August 12 and 13.
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