Supreme Court to hear petitions against Election Commission’s Bihar voter revision drive on July 10

The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to list a batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) decision to carry out a special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.

The case was mentioned for urgent hearing before a vacation bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Joymalya Bagchi by Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal.

The Court said it would be listed on Thursday, July 10.

Along with Sibal, Senior counsel Dr Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Gopal Sankaranarayanan and Shadan Farasat were also present at the time of mentioning.

Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) was among the first to approach the top court with a public interest litigation (PIL) seeking quashing of the ECI’s June 24 directive that requires large sections of voters in Bihar to submit proof of citizenship to remain on the electoral rolls.

Member of Parliament (MP) Mahua Moitra, MP Manoj Jha and activist Yogendra Yadav have also moved the top court with similar petitions.

ADR has argued that the ECI move violates Articles 14, 19, 21, 325 and 326 of the Constitution and also contravenes the provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and Rule 21A of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

According to the petition, the order imposes fresh documentation requirements and shifts the burden of proof from the State to the citizen. It also raises concerns over the exclusion of widely held documents like Aadhaar and ration cards, stating that this would disproportionately affect the poor and marginalised voters, especially in rural Bihar.

“The documentation requirements of the directive, lack of due process as well as the unreasonably short timeline for the said Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Roll in Bihar further make this exercise bound to result in removal of names of lakhs of genuine voters from electoral rolls leading to their disenfranchisement,” the petition states.

Under the SIR guidelines, voters not included in the 2003 electoral roll are now required to submit documents proving their citizenship. For those born after December 2004, the directive mandates not only their own documents but also those of both parents. In cases where a parent is a foreign national, the order asks for their passport and visa at the time of the applicant’s birth.

According to ADR, these requirements are unrealistic in a State like Bihar where birth registration levels are historically low and many voters do not have access to official documents. The petition notes that over three crore voters in Bihar may not be able to meet these criteria and could end up being removed from the rolls.

According to the petition, the ECI has not provided any reasons for ordering such a special revision.

Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 permits special revisions only for recorded reasons. ADR has alleged that the ECI’s order lacks such justification.