The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to an early hearing on petitions challenging the Election Commission’s (EC) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, scheduled for July 10. The move follows mounting criticism from opposition parties and civil society groups, who claim the process may disenfranchise lakhs of voters, especially from marginalized communities.
The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), Congress, and the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) have filed petitions opposing the EC’s decision, citing impractical timelines and rigid documentation requirements. Senior advocates Kapil Sibal and AM Singhvi, representing the petitioners, argued that the revision exercise could lead to the exclusion of a large number of voters.
The Supreme Court has directed the petitioners to share their pleas with the Election Commission and the Centre, allowing them to present their responses during Thursday’s hearing.
The ADR, in its plea, stated that the SIR mandates strict citizenship documentation, which could disproportionately impact marginalized groups such as Muslims, SCs, STs, and migrant workers. It also raised concerns over the non-acceptance of Aadhaar and ration cards, commonly used by these communities, for voter verification. ADR emphasized that many citizens may not be able to produce the required documents within the limited timeframe.
Last week, RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav led a delegation from the INDIA bloc to meet Bihar’s Chief Electoral Officer, raising strong objections to the SIR process. Calling it “impractical and anti-democratic,” he highlighted the logistical challenge of verifying 8 crore voters in just 25 days, especially when nearly half reside outside Bihar.
Tejashwi Yadav also questioned the exclusion of Aadhaar from the list of valid documents, citing his wife’s voter ID issuance based on Aadhaar as an example.
The delegation included RJD state president Manganilal Mandal, Members of Parliament Manoj Kumar Jha and Sanjay Yadav, former minister Alok Kumar Mehta, party spokesperson Chittaranjan Gagan, Congress state president Rajesh Ram, legislative party leader Shakeel Ahmed, Sanjay Pandey, VIP leader Mukesh Sahani, CPI-ML’s Kumar Parvez, CPI’s Ram Naresh Pandey, and CPI-M’s Lalan Chaudhary.