NEW DELHI: The validity of the Election Commission's controversial decision to direct Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls in Bihar just months before the polls has been challenged in the Supreme Court with Association for Democratic Reforms telling the court that the decision would disenfranchise lakhs of marginalised people in the state which is against free and fair election.
"The SIR order dated 24.06.2025 if not set aside, can arbitrarily and without due process disenfranchise lakhs of voters from electing their representatives, thereby disrupting free and fair elections and democracy in the country, which are part of basic structure of the Constitution. The documentation requirements of the directive, lack of due process as well as the unreasonably short timeline for the said Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Roll in Bihar further make this exercise bound to result in removal of names of lakhs of genuine voters from electoral rolls leading to their disenfranchisement," the petition said.
ADR, on whose pleas the apex court passed multiple orders for election reform, said in its petition that SIR's requirement for citizenship documentation disproportionately affects marginalized communities, including Muslims, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and migrant workers, who may lack access to such documents.
"The order issued by ECI has shifted the onus of being on the voters’ list from the State to citizens. It has excluded identification documents such as Aadhar or ration cards which further make marginalised communities and the poor more vulnerable to exclusion from voting. The Declaration as required under the SIR process is violative of Article 326 in so far as it requires a voter to provide documents to prove his/her citizenship and also citizenships of his/her mother or father, failing which his/her name would not be added to the draft electoral roll and can be deleted from the same," the petition said
"Bihar is a state with high poverty and migration rates where many lack access to documents like birth certificates or parental records. As per estimates over 3 crore voters and more particularly from marginalized communities (such as SC, STs and migrant workers) could be excluded from voting due to the stringent requirements as mentioned in the SIR order. That the current reports from Bihar, where SIR is already underway, show that lakhs of voters from villages and marginalized communities do not possess the documents as being sought for them," it said.
"The SIR order dated 24.06.2025 if not set aside, can arbitrarily and without due process disenfranchise lakhs of voters from electing their representatives, thereby disrupting free and fair elections and democracy in the country, which are part of basic structure of the Constitution. The documentation requirements of the directive, lack of due process as well as the unreasonably short timeline for the said Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Roll in Bihar further make this exercise bound to result in removal of names of lakhs of genuine voters from electoral rolls leading to their disenfranchisement," the petition said.
ADR, on whose pleas the apex court passed multiple orders for election reform, said in its petition that SIR's requirement for citizenship documentation disproportionately affects marginalized communities, including Muslims, Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, and migrant workers, who may lack access to such documents.
"The order issued by ECI has shifted the onus of being on the voters’ list from the State to citizens. It has excluded identification documents such as Aadhar or ration cards which further make marginalised communities and the poor more vulnerable to exclusion from voting. The Declaration as required under the SIR process is violative of Article 326 in so far as it requires a voter to provide documents to prove his/her citizenship and also citizenships of his/her mother or father, failing which his/her name would not be added to the draft electoral roll and can be deleted from the same," the petition said
"Bihar is a state with high poverty and migration rates where many lack access to documents like birth certificates or parental records. As per estimates over 3 crore voters and more particularly from marginalized communities (such as SC, STs and migrant workers) could be excluded from voting due to the stringent requirements as mentioned in the SIR order. That the current reports from Bihar, where SIR is already underway, show that lakhs of voters from villages and marginalized communities do not possess the documents as being sought for them," it said.
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