EC Accuses ADR of Mala Fide Motive to Disrupt SIR

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has strongly criticized the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), accusing the NGO of submitting false affidavits to the Supreme Court with the intention of disrupting the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bihar. The SIR is a critical pre-election exercise conducted to revise electoral rolls before the Bihar Assembly elections.

The accusation was made by senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the ECI, before a Supreme Court bench led by Justice Surya Kant. Dwivedi stated that ADR had provided fabricated details regarding an individual who claimed their name was wrongly excluded from the final voter list. According to Dwivedi, the individual's name was not found in the draft roll, and the details provided actually pertained to a woman. The ECI argued that ADR and activist Yogendra Yadav filed affidavits late, hindering the ECI's ability to respond promptly.

ADR counsel Prashant Bhushan defended the submitted information, asserting that the details were provided by a "very responsible person" and could be verified by the district legal service authority. However, the bench expressed disapproval of ADR's conduct, stating that such actions were unexpected from the petitioner. The court even questioned the existence of the person mentioned in the affidavit.

The controversy surrounding the SIR in Bihar stems from the deletion of a significant number of voters from the electoral rolls. Initially, approximately 65 lakh voters were dropped from the draft electoral rolls published on August 1, 2025, leading to concerns about disenfranchisement. The ECI attributed the deletions to various reasons, including deceased voters, duplicate registrations, and migration. However, ADR has argued that the ECI has not provided sufficient details regarding these deletions, hindering public verification and transparency. ADR has requested the ECI to release a detailed, assembly-wise list of all deleted voters, along with the reasons for their deletion.

The Supreme Court has been actively involved in the matter. It directed the ECI to provide constituency-wise and booth-wise disclosure of names and reasons for deletion from the draft electoral rolls. The court also instructed the Bihar State Legal Service Authority (BSLSA) to assist voters excluded from the final electoral rolls in filing appeals with the ECI. The Supreme Court has emphasized the importance of ensuring a voter verification approach based on "mass inclusion, not mass exclusion". It had previously questioned the ECI's refusal to accept Aadhaar or Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) as valid documents for identity verification. Later, the Court directed the ECI to issue a formal notice stating that Aadhaar will be accepted as an identity proof document for the inclusion of a voter to the revised voters' list being prepared as part of the SIR.

The SIR in Bihar has faced political opposition, with parties arguing that the revision is designed to remove vulnerable people and their supporters from the voter lists. The INDIA opposition bloc has labeled the revision as "vote theft". ADR has also raised concerns that those removed from the draft roll lose their right to standard legal remedies, increasing their risk of disenfranchisement.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the petitions challenging the SIR on November 4, 2025. The court has acknowledged the ECI's responsibility to disclose voter data after completing the revision process. The court has also stated that affected individuals can file appeals to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar.