New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday instructed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to provide, by August 9, detailed information on approximately 65 lakh electors who have been excluded from the draft electoral rolls in Bihar.
A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant, Ujjal Bhuyan, and N Kotiswar Singh asked the poll body to furnish particulars of the deleted voters — data that has already been shared with political parties — and supply a copy to the non-governmental organisation Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).
ADR has moved the court challenging the ECI’s June 24 order directing a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state’s electoral rolls. In a fresh application, the NGO sought a direction for the Commission to publish the names of those removed from the list, along with reasons such as death, permanent migration, or other grounds for exclusion. During the proceedings, advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing ADR, argued that while certain political parties had been given a list of deleted voters, it did not specify whether those individuals had died or migrated. “This lack of clarity undermines the transparency of the process,” he submitted.
Responding to the concerns, the bench observed that the reasons for deletion would emerge in due course since the current list is only a draft. Addressing the ECI’s counsel, the court stated, “We will see every voter likely to be affected and get the required information. You file a reply by Saturday, let Mr Bhushan examine it, and then we can see what has been disclosed and what has not.”
Bhushan also alleged that 75 per cent of voters who had filled the enumeration form failed to provide supporting documents from the prescribed list of 11, yet their names were included based on recommendations of the Booth Level Officer (BLO).
The bench clarified that it would hear a batch of petitions contesting the June 24 order on August 12. ADR could present these arguments at that time.
On July 29, the apex court had described the Election Commission as a constitutional authority obliged to act within the framework of law and indicated it would intervene promptly if there was a “mass exclusion” of voters during the SIR process in Bihar. It scheduled hearings for August 12 and 13.
Earlier, the court had remarked that there should be “en masse inclusion” rather than “en masse exclusion” of voters and directed the ECI to keep accepting Aadhaar and voter ID cards during the process. Emphasising the “presumption of genuineness” of these documents, it refused to halt publication of the draft rolls.
The draft rolls, released on August 1, recorded 7.24 crore voters in Bihar while removing over 65 lakh names. The Commission stated that most of these individuals had either died, permanently moved away, or were registered at multiple locations. According to the ECI, 22.34 lakh names were removed due to death, 36.28 lakh for being “permanently shifted/absent,” and 7.01 lakh for duplicate enrolments.
The ongoing SIR has stirred political controversy as it was initiated only months ahead of the state assembly elections. Opposition parties allege that the process risks depriving a large number of eligible citizens of their right to vote.
The ECI has maintained that the SIR strengthens the credibility of elections by removing ineligible entries. It has made the draft rolls available online and distributed printed copies to political party representatives at the district level to allow them to flag discrepancies during the claims and objections phase, which will run until September 1. The final electoral rolls are scheduled for release on September 30.
The top court will take up the matter next week, with the ECI expected to submit its detailed response on the deletions in the interim.