Bihar Voter List Row: Justices Surya Kant, Joymalya Bagchi to Hear Case Today

Speedy Summary:

• Supreme court will hear petitions challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar on July 28, 2025.
• The draft electoral roll is scheduled for publication in august 2025; no interim stay has been imposed by the Court,allowing SIR to proceed.
• Petitioners argue ECI lacks jurisdiction on citizenship matters and raise concerns over the reliability of documents accepted for voter verification during SIR.
• A supreme Court Bench earlier advised ECI to include Aadhaar card, Voter ID (EPIC), and ration card as acceptable proof for voter registration under SIR but did not freeze the exercise.
• The Election Commission defended its decision citing political parties’ complaints about inaccuracies in Bihar’s voter lists. Approximately 91.69% of voters have submitted enumeration forms as part of SIR’s update process.
• Criticism from citizens’ groups points to irregularities and impracticalities within the process; INDIA bloc parties labeled it an exercise in establishing citizenship rather than revising rolls.

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Indian Opinion analysis:

The Special Intensive Revision conducted by ECI highlights India’s commitment to maintaining robust electoral transparency ahead of Bihar’s upcoming Assembly elections. while it might potentially be a necessary response to reported errors in voter lists, concerns over procedural reliability and alleged disenfranchisement risks merit attention. The acknowledgment that any of the 11 accepted documents for verification could be falsified raises questions about ensuring inclusivity without compromising authenticity.

The tension surrounding citizenship verification underscores constitutional intricacies-citizenship remains foundational to voting eligibility according to current laws-but also reveals divided public opinion around administrative priorities during sensitive election periods. With high participation rates reported thus far, SIR appears broadly effective on paper; however, whether it resolves or exacerbates trust deficits between institutions and communities holds significant implications for both democratic depiction and institutional credibility across India.

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