The Election Commission of India (ECI) has assured the Supreme Court that no eligible voter in Bihar will be removed from the electoral rolls without being given prior notice and a fair opportunity to be heard. This statement comes amidst concerns regarding the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. The ECI emphasized that "strict directions" have been issued to prevent any wrongful deletions during this process.
The Supreme Court is currently reviewing a petition seeking the disclosure of details concerning 65 lakh voters whose names were excluded from the draft electoral rolls in Bihar. These rolls were released on August 1st as part of the SIR. The ECI has been directed to respond to the petition.
The ECI stated that it is "taking every possible step" to ensure that no legitimate elector is excluded from the rolls. In an affidavit submitted to the Supreme Court in response to a directive issued on August 6, the Commission detailed a ten-point verification and inclusion mechanism. This mechanism involves booth-level visits, participation of political parties, targeted awareness campaigns, and special assistance for vulnerable groups.
According to the ECI, 7.24 crore out of Bihar's 7.89 crore electors submitted their forms during the SIR drive. This process involved over 77,000 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), 2.45 lakh volunteers, and 1.6 lakh party-appointed Booth Level Agents. The ECI also highlighted specific measures taken to avoid exclusions, including SMS campaigns, repeated BLO visits, allowing each Booth Level Agent to submit up to 50 forms daily, advertisements in 246 newspapers to reach temporary migrants, urban camps in all 261 urban local bodies, and advance enrollment drives for young voters turning 18 before October 1, 2025.
The ECI has shared lists of electors whose forms were not received with Booth Level Agents of recognized political parties well before the draft publication to allow corrective action. Updated lists were also provided to political party representatives later in the process.
The Supreme Court had previously refused to stay the Bihar voter list revision. However, it directed the ECI to consider Aadhaar cards, ration cards, and Voter IDs as valid documents for identity verification. The court has asked the ECI to provide an explanation if it chooses not to include these documents in the list of admissible documents for proof of identity.
Reasons cited by the ECI for the non-inclusion of previously registered voters in the draft rolls include death (22.34 lakh), 'permanently shifted/absent' (36.28 lakh), and 'already enrolled (at more than one place)' (7.01 lakh). An application has been submitted stating that the reason for removing each name is not individually shown, either constituency-wise or booth-wise, in the draft roll. The ECI's alleged concealment of the reason for deletion against each name in the list of 65 lakh electors raises concerns about transparency and whether electors whose names appear in the list are indeed dead or permanently migrated.
