Multiple pleas before Supreme Court challenge ECI's order on revision of Bihar electoral rolls
Various pleas have been filed before the Supreme Court of India challenging the order and communication dated 24 June, 2025 issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI) directing for Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls in Bihar (SIR Order).
As per the impugned Order the ECI has decided to begin the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the entire country for the discharge of its constitutional mandate to protect the integrity of the electoral rolls.
Moreover, since the General Elections to the Legislative Assembly in the State of Bihar is expected in later part of this year, the Commission has decided to conduct Special Intensive Revision in the State of Bihar first. It has further said that the schedule for the Special Intensive Revision in the rest of the country shall be issued separately in due course.
ECI accordingly conveyed instructions to the Chief Electoral Officer Bihar, Patna to carry out Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise of the electoral rolls in Bihar.
The petition filed by Association for Democratic Reforms and a few others has challenged the ECI's order for being in violation of Articles 14, 19, 21, 325 and 326 of the Constitution of India as well as provisions of Representation of People’s Act, 1950 and Rule 21A of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.
"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 plea states.
It is ADR's case that 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 make this exercise bound to result in removal of names of lakhs of genuine voters from electoral rolls leading to their disenfranchisement.
ECI has shifted the onus of being on the voters’ list from the State to citizens as 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 plea states.
Arguing that 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 writ petition submits, "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.".
Calling the SIR of Bihar or any other state of country a positive step, ADR's petition states that the manner in which ECI has directed the conduct of SIR in a poll bound state like Bihar, has raised questions from all stakeholders, particularly the voters.
Notably, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has also approached the Supreme Court against the ECI orders on revision of Bihar's electoral rolls and sought a direction to restrain Election Commission of India from issuing similar orders for Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Roll in other states of the country as well. "The impugned SIR order requires the inclusion or retention of a voter's name in the electoral roll upon production of citizenship documents, including proof of citizenship of either or both the parents, failing which the voter is at risk of exclusion. This requirement is ultra vires Article 326 and introduces extraneous qualifications not contemplated by the Constitution or the RP Act 1950.", her plea states.
Politician Yogendra Yadav has also approached the court with a petition seeking urgent stay on the 24 June order mandating de novo voter roll preparation in Bihar.
Yadav has submitted that the exercise will lead to disenfranchisement of a substantial chunk of voters in a State marred by poor documentation on account of illiteracy, poverty, migration and lack of resources.
Case Title: ASSOCIATION FOR DEMOCRATIC REFORMS & ORS vs. ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA