The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a challenge from the Congress party and 10 other opposition parties, including the DMK and NCP (Sharad Pawar), against the Election Commission's (ECI) decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. The opposition parties contend that the SIR process is flawed and will disenfranchise lakhs of voters, particularly those from marginalized communities. They argue that the timeline for the revision is impractical and that the requirement for strict citizenship documentation will disproportionately affect migrant workers, Muslims, Dalits, and other vulnerable groups who may not possess the necessary documents within the allotted time.
Senior advocates Kapil Sibal, A M Singhvi, and Gopal Sankarnarayanan pleaded with the court for an urgent hearing, asserting that the revision process had already commenced and that a stay was necessary to prevent widespread disenfranchisement. The court has scheduled the hearing for Thursday, July 10, 2025.
The opposition parties have voiced strong objections to the SIR, calling it "discriminatory, unreasonable, and manifestly arbitrary" and a violation of Articles 14, 21, 325, and 326 of the Constitution. They claim the SIR is a tool for "institutionalised disenfranchisement" used to justify aggressive and opaque revisions of electoral rolls that disproportionately target Muslim, Dalit, and poor migrant communities. They argue that the current SIR process is not random but rather an engineered exclusion that could disenfranchise crores of voters, thereby robbing them of their constitutional right to vote.
Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal has been particularly vocal, describing the revision as a "rigging attempt" orchestrated by the ECI under instructions from the ruling regime. He posted on X, stating that the SIR "has wreaked havoc across villages and towns of Bihar — giving crores of voters anxiety about whether their right to vote will be stolen". He added, "This is mass-scale rigging and mischief being carried out by EC, under instructions from ruling regime".
RJD MP Manoj Jha has sought the court's direction to the ECI to conduct the upcoming polls in Bihar based on the existing electoral rolls. He also pointed out that the SIR has been launched during the monsoon season in Bihar, when many districts are affected by floods and displacement, making it difficult for a large section of the population to participate meaningfully in the process.
Echoing these concerns, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has urged the Supreme Court to restrain the ECI from undertaking such an exercise. In her petition, she argued that the SIR unlawfully shifts the burden of proving eligibility from the state to the individual elector and arbitrarily excludes commonly accepted identity documents such as Aadhaar and ration cards.
Pawan Khera, Congress in charge of media and publicity, said the entire opposition stands united against the “flawed and destructive” SIR process, which is “guaranteed to disenfranchise a vast number of voters due to its malicious and mischievous methodology".
The opposition has raised concerns that the SIR could be replicated in other states as well. They have collectively expressed their faith in the Supreme Court to deliver justice and protect the democratic rights of all citizens. The outcome of the Supreme Court hearing on July 10 will be crucial in determining the fate of the SIR and its potential impact on the upcoming elections in Bihar.
