Bihar electoral revision row: What SC said on Aadhaar exclusion, citizenship check; how EC responded

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Thursday raised questions over the exclusion of Aadhar in the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.

While hearing petitions against EC's exercise, a partial working day (PWD) bench of justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi asked the poll body to respond on whether it has the power to revise electoral rolls, procedure adopted in the exercise and its timing.

The apex court, however, asked the petitioners to refrain from calling the exercise "artificial" or "imaginary."

Here are the 10 things that SC said

• The SC said that the special intensive revision is an important issue which goes to the "root of democracy and power to vote."
• It asked the Election Commission to respond on three issues - whether it has power to revise electoral rolls, procedure adopted and timing of the exercise.
• The apex court raised concerns over the exclusion of Aadhar in the 11 listed documents required to prove citizenship in the state.
• The bench questioned questioned EC focus on citizenship, noting that such matters fall under the jurisdiction of the home ministry.
• "Why are you getting into the citizenship issue in the special revision of electoral rolls in Bihar? It is the domain of the MHA," the bench asked the poll body.
• "If you are to check citizenship under the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar, then you should have acted early; it is a bit late," it added.
• The court observed that there is nothing wrong with the SIR exercise itself but emphasized that it should have been conducted independently of the ensuing election in state schedule at the end of the year.
• "Why are you connecting SIR in Bihar to the assembly elections in November? Why can't it be irrespective of elections?" the top court asked the poll panel.
• The top court however asked the petitioners to refrain from terming SC's exercise "artificial" or "imaginary". It said that "there is logic behind electoral roll revision."
• What EC is doing is mandated under Constitution and last such exercise was undertaken in 2003

How the Election commission responded

• EC told the top court that no person would be removed from electoral roll in Bihar without giving him/her a notice and a hearing.
• The poll panel said that wrong perception is being created that EC is working with a premeditated mindset.
• With passage of time, electoral rolls need to be revised to look into inclusion or exclusion of voter names," EC said.
• The poll panel also told the top court that it has some preliminary objections to pleas challenging special intensive revision of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.
• On SC's remarks on citizenship, EC said that citizenship is required to be checked for being a voter in India under Article 326 of Constitution.

Several petitions have been filed before the top court claiming that if the EC's order directing SIR can “arbitrarily” and “without due process” disenfranchise lakhs of voters from electing their representatives, and disrupt free and fair elections and democracy -- a part of basic structure of the Constitution.

However, the claimed the exercise a part of its crackdown on illegal immigrants from countries like Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.

The poll panel reminded the constitutional provision that says only Indian citizens can vote. "The Constitution of India is supreme. All citizens, political parties, and the Election Commission of India follow the Constitution," EC said in a statement.

The poll panel already has nearly 78,000 booth-level officers (BLOs) and is appointing over 20,000 more for new polling stations, it said.

More than one lakh volunteers will be assisting genuine electors, particularly the old, sick, persons with disabilities, poor, and other vulnerable groups during the special intensive revision.

Out of the existing 7,89,69,844 electors, 4.96 crore electors, whose names are already in the last intensive revision of the Electoral Roll on January 1, 2003, have to "simply verify so, fill the Enumeration Form and submit it."

The enumeration form should be filled between 25 June and 26 July, after which the draft voter list will be published on 1 August 2025; the period for filing claims and objections will be from 1 August to 1 September, and the final voter list will be published on 30 September.