On thursday, the Supreme Court heard petitions challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls, with petitioners raising concerns over missing and deleted names. The matter comes amid the Bihar Assembly elections, scheduled in two phases on November 6 and 11.
During the hearing, Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the Association for Democratic Reforms, urged the bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi to direct the ECI to publish the final list of added and deleted voters, along with reasons for exclusion. Petitioners highlighted that several voters previously included in the draft rolls were either omitted or deleted without explanation, raising questions over transparency and accuracy. Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the ECI, stated that the final rolls are being prepared and will be frozen as per nomination deadlines for the two election phases.
The Bench also asked the ECI to file written notes addressing the constitutional validity of the SIR exercise. Earlier, the Court had ensured free legal aid for excluded voters and directed the ECI to accept documents such as Aadhaar, EPIC, and ration cards for inclusion. After hearing submissions, the Supreme Court adjourned the matter to November 4 for further proceedings and review of the final electoral rolls.
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