The Election Commission of India's (ECI) order to conduct a special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar has been challenged in the Supreme Court. The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), an NGO, has filed a plea arguing that the ECI's directive, issued on June 24, 2025, violates constitutional rights and could disenfranchise a significant number of voters.
The ADR claims that the ECI's move is in violation of Articles 14, 19, 21, 325, and 326 of the Constitution, as well as provisions of the Representation of the People's Act, 1950, and Rule 21A of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. Advocate Prashant Bhushan is representing the NGO in this matter. Activist Yogendra Yadav has also separately approached the Supreme Court against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar. He calls it a "de novo preparation of electoral rolls in the State under the guise of a special intensive revision leading 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”.
The ECI's directive mandates a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The petitioner argues that the order shifts the responsibility of being on the voters' list from the state to the citizens. It requires voters to provide documents to prove their citizenship, and also the citizenships of their parents, failing which their names would not be added to the draft electoral roll and can be deleted from the same. The petition highlights that the revision exercise disproportionately impacts marginalized groups such as women, Scheduled Castes/Tribes communities, and migrants, many of whom lack the specified documents. According to ADR, over three crore voters in Bihar may not be able to meet these criteria and could end up being removed from the rolls. As per estimates over three crore voters and more particularly from marginalised communities (such as SC, STs and migrant workers) could be excluded from voting due to the stringent requirements as mentioned in the SIR order.
The plea also points out that the ECI's directive lacks recorded reasons supported by any evidence or transparent methodology, rendering it arbitrary. Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, allows the ECI to direct a special revision of electoral rolls "for reasons to be recorded". The petition maintains that the requirement of citizenship documents contravenes the requirement of specific grounds for deletion of names from electoral rolls (e.g., death, nonresidence, or disqualification under Section 16 of RPA, 1950).
Concerns have also been raised about the exclusion of widely held documents like Aadhaar and ration cards for proving citizenship. The ECI has provided a list of 11 documents that can be attached to prove the applicant's eligibility as a voter.
The ECI's timeline requires voters to submit the required forms and documents by July 25, 2025, with the final list set to be published by September 30. The petitioner argues that the ECI has issued an unreasonable and impractical timeline to conduct SIR in Bihar with close proximity to state elections which are due in November 2025. The short deadline has been flagged as a major issue.
The Election Commission has begun a special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar. The poll authority reminded that Article 326 specifies eligibility to become an elector -- only Indian citizens, above 18 years and ordinary residents in that constituency are eligible to be on the voters' list. The poll authority is carrying out an intensive review of electoral rolls this year in five states and Puducherry, beginning with Bihar, to weed out foreign illegal migrants by checking their place of birth. The Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said that almost every political party had complained about the voters' list being inaccurate and stressed it was necessary to update it before elections under the law.
