Bihar SIR : Supreme Court Refuses To Stop ECI From Publishing Draft Voters List; Urges Consideration Of Aadhaar & EPIC

The Supreme Court on Monday (July 28) refused to stop the Election Commission of India from publishing the draft electoral rolls for Bihar on August 1 as per the schedule notified for the Special Intensive Revision.The bench comprising Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi did not hold a detailed hearing today as Justice Kant had to attend an administrative meeting with the CJI afternoon. Assuring the petitioners that the matters will be heard at the earliest, Justice Kant asked the lawyers to submit the tentative times required for argument tomorrow.Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, for the Association for Democratic Reforms, urged the bench to stop the notification of the draft list, saying that it is going to inconvenience about "4.5 crores" of voters. Once the draft list is published, the persons excluded will have to take steps to file objections and to seek inclusions, he added. The prayer for stay was not made on June 10 since the Court agreed to hear before the date of draft publication, he pointed out. Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, for the Election Commission, submitted that it was only a draft list.Justice Kant said that it was, after all, a draft list and said that the Court can ultimately strike down the entire process if any illegality was found. Sankaranarayanan then requested Justice Kant to make an observation that the process will be "subject to the outcome of the petitions." Justice Kant said that such an observation was not necessary as it was understood.During the brief hearing, the petitioners also told the bench that the ECI was violating, on the ground, the Supreme Court's advice made as per its July 10 order to consider Aadhaar cards, Electoral Photo Identity Cards and Ration Cards. Dwivedi said that in its counter affidavit, the ECI has raised its reservations about these documents. As far as ration cards, there are several fake cards issued, he added.The bench verbally told the ECI to consider at least the statutory documents of Aadhaar and EPIC."There's presumption of correctness with official documents, you proceed with these 2 documents. You will include these two documents (Aadhaar and EPIC)...Wherever you find forgery, that's on case-to-case basis. Any document on the earth can be forged..", Justice Kant orally told the ECI's counsel.Justice Kant further impressed upon the ECI that instead of "en masse exclusion", there should be, "en masse inclusion."Earlier, a vacation bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Bagchi had orally commented that the determination of citizenship was not the function of ECI and that it was the prerogative of the Union Government. The bench had also urged the ECI to consider Aadhaar, Voter ID and Ration cards in the Bihar SIR process.BackgroundVide an order dated June 24, 2025, the Election Commission of India initiated a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar in exercise of powers under Section 21(3) of the Representation of People Act, 1950. The petitions challenging ECI's order were listed on July 10 before a partial Court working days bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi, after an urgent mentioning was made. On the said date, the Court noted that the petitions raised an important issue which went to the root of democracy - the right to vote - and asked asked ECI to consider Aadhaar Card, Voter ID card and ration card also as acceptable documents for the SIR.Further, the bench raised concerns about voters being asked to furnish documents at short notice and about the legal authority of the ECI to seek proof of citizenship. At the same time, it recorded ECI's submission that the list of 11 documents specified by it in its June 24 order as acceptable documents to prove citizenship was illustrative and not exhaustive. The petitioners did not press for interim relief then as the next hearing was scheduled for July 28, that is, before publication of the draft electoral roll (August 1).Subsequently, ECI filed its counter-affidavit before the Supreme Court, stating that Aadhaar, Voter ID and Ration cards are not reliable documents for inclusion in the electoral roll during the ongoing SIR in Bihar, since the process is a fresh revision of the electoral rolls. The ECI also defended its authority to seek proof of citizenship, stating that it is statutorily bound to ensure that only citizens of India are registered as voters.In response to ECI's counter, ADR filed a rejoinder, alleging that enumeration forms of voters, which are used to update the electoral rolls, are being mass-uploaded by the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) without the consent of voters, to meet the "unrealistic" timelines set by ECI. Relying on ground reports of senior journalist Ajit Anjum, ADR further stated that in some cases, enumeration forms of even dead persons are being submitted, and ECI guidelines are being violated.The petitions are filed by opposition leaders KC Venugopal (INC), D Raja (CPI), representatives of the...

Bihar SIR : Supreme Court Refuses To Stop ECI From Publishing Draft Voters List; Urges Consideration Of Aadhaar & EPIC

Debby Jain

The Court further impressed upon the ECI that instead of "en masse exclusion", there should be, "en masse inclusion."

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