RJD, AIMIM Petition Supreme Court to Extend Bihar SIR Claim Deadline

Swift Summary

• Supreme Court Hearing: The Supreme court agreed to hear on September 1, 2025, pleas of the RJD and AIMIM seeking an extension of the deadline for filing claims and objections in Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
• Current Deadline: The current deadline for submitting claims and objections is September 1.
• Advocates’ Claims: Advocates highlighted a surge in submitted claims-95,000 filed post-August 22 compared to 80,000 filed prior-and requested urgent listing due to escalating numbers.
• Previous Directions:

– On August 22, the court allowed excluded voters to submit claims online or physically during the SIR exercise.
– on August 14, it directed the Election Commission (ECI) to publish details of excluded voters by August 19 and accept Aadhaar as identity proof for inclusion in voter rolls.
– Approximately 65 lakh voters were excluded from draft rolls in Bihar’s first voter list revision as 2003, reducing registered voters from 7.9 crore to 7.24 crore.

• political Concern: The revision has triggered notable political debates in poll-bound Bihar.

Indian Opinion Analysis

The Supreme Court’s decision to consider extending deadlines highlights growing concern over accessibility and accuracy in electoral roll revisions ahead of Bihar’s elections. With significantly reduced voter numbers after two decades without revisions, transparency is crucial not just on technical grounds but also amidst political tensions over disenfranchisement allegations.

The surge-from 80,000 initial submissions pre-August order to nearly double (95,000) thereafter-points toward considerable demand for reassessment processes that may require further scaling efforts by authorities like ECI. Allowing digital submissions is a progressive move toward inclusivity; however, implementation challenges could possibly impact trust among citizens regarding their democratic rights.

This situation underlines pressing needs: ensuring fair representation while managing logistical complexities before polls-a task requiring both jurisdictional clarity and Election Commission responsiveness.

Images from source article:

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Read more at The Hindu.