Bihar voter roll revision: Why EC move could stir up the melting pot

The Supreme Court ordered the Election Commission of India (EC) on Thursday (July 10) to consider Aadhaar, EPIC, voters' ID, and ration card as valid proof of documentation for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in poll-bound Bihar.

Over 10 petitions filed by Opposition leaders, activists, NGOs and lawyers had requested the apex court to stay the SIR proceedings in Bihar. They argued that the exercise is being done in a slapdash manner in Bihar, too close to the polling date. They also pointed out that the EC had ruled out Aadhaar as an invalid document for the revision.

EC defends move, others differ

The EC insisted that it was well within its constitutional rights to conduct an SIR, and it would be conducted throughout the rest of the country as well.

Also Read: Why it's a relief for both EC and petitioners

Jagdeep S Chhokar of the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), one of the petitioners in the case, told this reporter: ``Well, the apex court has not shut the door on us completely. I would like to imagine that after this order, the ECI would start accepting the three main documents, Aadhaar, voter ID card and ration card, as part of the SIR process.’’ The Bench has now listed the case for further hearing on July 28.

Earlier, Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi said that there is nothing wrong with updating the voter list to remove non-citizens but doing such a large and mandatory revision just months before elections could hurt real voters. They warned that some eligible citizens might lose their chance to vote because they may not be able to finish the appeal process in time.

Move will have big impact

Potentially, this case has far-reaching ramifications for the health of democracy in India. If the government – read EC – can get away with the kind of electoral roll revision it has proposed, then it could render well-established identification papers, such as Aadhaar, virtually defunct.

On the face of it, SIR should be considered acceptable. Article 324 of the Constitution empowers the EC to oversee elections. Article 326 directs that the franchise be limited to all adult Indian citizens. The updating of electoral rolls is supported by the Registration of Electoral Rules, 1960 and the Representation of Peoples’ Act, 1950. The last SIR in Bihar was undertaken in 2003 and there have been annual summary revisions in many states since then.

Look at it anyway, the cover of legalities for the SIR project is complete. According to former Chief Election Commissioner TS Krishnamurthy, ``The CEC is well within its rights to call for a revision of the voters' list. While some people have expressed concern over the timing, the EC is more than ready. It has already appointed 77,895 booth-level officers (BLOs) and 20,603 more are expected to join in, one of the largest number of officials ever appointed for an assembly election.”

Why has it flared up?

So, why has the SIR in Bihar stoked such widespread discontent? For one, its nomenclature itself is under court scrutiny. Justice Dhulia said as much. What the EC is currently doing doesn’t fall under the usual “summary revision” or “intensive revision,” but is being called a “special intensive revision,” which is not mentioned in the rules, he said, noting that this process appears to be focusing on verifying citizenship.

Also Read: EC defends Bihar voter list revision, calls it inclusive

And therein lies the rub. It is not so much the legalities involved, but the intent, which is under scrutiny.

'Audacious attempt'

Critics see it as an audacious attempt at mass disenfranchisement of Indian citizens. Social activist Yogendra Yadav wrote in a column: ``In effect this is, as critics have alleged, a move at votebandi, following notebandi (demonetisation) and deshbandi (lockdown). Dumb at best and diabolic at worst, this draconian policy shift could end up taking away the only right that crores of ordinary Indians have had — the right to vote.’’

What does EC say

The EC has offered its explanation for the revision. These include migration, the need to weed out foreign illegal immigrants, to include newly eligible voters, and delete the names of the dead.

Also Read: EC’s Bihar SIR inconsistent with law, raises many questions: PDT Achary

The poll body’s order is clear: every voter will have to fill out an enumeration form with a current photograph, signatures, basic details, and proof of citizenship. Those who had their names on the electoral rolls (ER) of 2003 (presuming the exact name and residence have not changed) have a shortcut. They can attach a copy of the page carrying their name in the ER-2003. That will be accepted as proof of their citizenship. The EC has claimed that 4.96 crore people (63% of those currently on the ER) will be able to take this shortcut, leaving less than 3 crores to prove their eligibility. Ominously, those who fail to submit fresh enumeration forms by July 25 will automatically be left out of the draft rolls.

Citizenship comes into play

Notably, for the first time, every person would be required to provide documentary proof of their citizenship to qualify for the voters’ list.

Political analyst Amitabh Tewari sees this as the crucial point. ``It is interesting to note that Form 6 of the EC, which admits fresh voters, does not have a column on citizenship rights. No one can say, why. So, what should have been done in the first instance is now being done in Bihar,” he points out.

What that means is that the onus of being on the voters’ list has been shifted from the state to the citizen. In other words, it is not enough to have an Aadhaar card, the EC’s photo identity card, ration card or MGNREGA job card, as none of them would be accepted by the EC to enrol someone as a voter.

While political hackles have been raised with Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and CM-aspirant Tejaswi Yadav announcing a general strike, the matter has reached the Supreme Court, thanks to petitions by Trinamool Congress’s Mohua Moitra and the NGO, ADR.

In its public interest litigation (PIL), ADR said SIR needs to be set aside, as insisting on people to prove their citizenship and that of their parents within short notice and without relying upon easily available identity documents such as Aadhaar card will potentially disenfranchise nearly 3 crore voters – close to half of the Bihar electorate.

A Special Summary Revision (SSR) was carried out in the state between October 29, 2024, and January 6, 2025, to address issues of migration and ineligible voters due to death or other reasons. Pointing this out, the petition said, “There is no reason for such a drastic exercise in a poll-bound state in such a short period of time, violating the right to vote of lakhs of voters.”

DM Diwakar, former director at Patna’s AN Sinha Institute and currently with the Development Research Institute, Jalsain, believes that the ``kind of proof the EC is demanding, simply does not exist with most people because the state never supplied them the papers it demands of them today.''

According to him, when farmers face a drought-like situation and struggle to cultivate their crops, the EC demands documents that they may not be able to produce in time. In addition, Bihar, which has among the highest number of migrant workers, is up against an unrealistic deadline.

Also Read: Electoral roll revision ‘conspiracy’ to steal Bihar polls like Maha: Rahul

In addition, there are other implications, says Diwakar. ``Many voters were born here. If left out of the electoral roll, they may not qualify for benefits and government programmes in the future. It is a downright anti-poor move.”

Legalities apart, what is the political motivation for the ruling BJP? Sources suggest that the main trigger for the SIR is to weed out illegal Bangladeshi migrants in some parts of Bihar, notably the Seemanchal area, which constitutes the border districts of Purnea, Kishanganj, Araria and Katihar. The BJP has for years campaigned against illegal migrants.

Analyst Diwakar points out that unlike 2025, when SIR was last conducted in 2003, there were extensive discussions with political parties, before the final announcement. This EC declaration on June 24, came without so much as a preliminary warning.