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‘Why can’t it be…': Supreme Court questions timing of Bihar voters list revision
"Why are you connecting the Special Intensive Revision to the elections? Why can’t it be irrespective of elections?" the top court asked.
The Supreme Court on Thursday raised sharp questions over the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, expressing concern about the timing and the exclusion of key documents like Aadhaar from the verification process.
Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia observed that SIR is a “constitutional mandate”, but questioned the Election Commission's rationale behind linking the revision exercise to the upcoming Bihar assembly elections in October–November.
"Why are you connecting the Special Intensive Revision to the elections? Why can’t it be irrespective of elections?" the court asked. The bench also observed that if the objective of the SIR is to verify citizenship, then the Commission “should have acted earlier,” suggesting that the process now appears “a bit late.”
Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the EC, reiterated that the exercise is constitutionally mandated under Article 326, which stipulates that only Indian citizens can be enrolled as voters. He emphasized that verifying citizenship is essential to maintaining the integrity of the electoral roll.
However, the court pressed further, asking why Aadhaar cards are being excluded as valid documents during the verification process. “Why is Aadhaar not being accepted?” the bench questioned, pointing to concerns about potential disenfranchisement.
The next hearing in the case is on July 28.
The EC maintained that the current revision is in line with constitutional provisions and that a similar SIR was last conducted in 2003. Senior advocates KK Venugopal and Maninder Singh also defended the poll body’s position, underscoring the necessity of a robust and lawful voter list.
The petitions—filed by over 10 parties and individuals including the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), activist Yogendra Yadav, and MPs from the RJD, TMC, Congress, NCP (SP), CPI, Shiv Sena (UBT), and others—have called the SIR “arbitrary” and “unconstitutional.” They argue that it is unprecedented for the entire voter base, roughly 7.9 crore citizens, to be asked to re-verify their eligibility, especially so close to an election.
While the EC has defended the move as a standard and necessary electoral procedure, critics allege it could disenfranchise large numbers of voters and may be politically motivated.
