New Delhi, July 10, 2025: The Supreme Court on Thursday, July 10, 2025, refused to halt the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar ahead of the November 2025 Assembly elections but raised concerns about its timing and exclusion of key identity documents. The bench, led by Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi, directed the ECI to consider Aadhaar, voter ID (EPIC), and ration cards for voter verification, addressing opposition claims of potential disenfranchisement.

The ECI ordered the SIR last month (June 2025) to address duplicate entries from large-scale additions and deletions over the last 20 years, noting Bihar’s population grew from 4 crore in 2003 (last revision) to 7.9 crore. The court questioned why the ECI linked the revision to the upcoming elections, stating, “The problem is the timing… Why connect SIR to assembly elections in November?” It emphasized that purging non-citizens is the Home Ministry’s domain, not the ECI’s, and cited Article 326, which requires voters to be Indian citizens.

Opposition parties, including TMC MP Mahua Moitra, RJD’s Tejashwi Yadav, and Congress’s Rahul Gandhi, challenged the SIR, alleging it could disenfranchise voters by requiring already-enrolled voters to prove citizenship with one of 11 documents, excluding Aadhaar and voter ID. Moitra’s petition warned of similar revisions in West Bengal. Senior advocates Gopal Sankaranarayanan and Abhishek Manu Singhvi argued the 30-day revision was rushed and lacked legal basis, citing the 1995 Lal Babu Hussein case, which presumes enrolled voters’ citizenship.

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The ECI, represented by Rakesh Dwivedi, defended the SIR as a routine, constitutionally mandated process to remove illegal migrants from voter lists in six states, starting with Bihar. The court acknowledged the “logic” behind the exercise but noted its late timing, as draft rolls are due by August 1, 2025. It assured no voter would be excluded without a hearing.

The court’s three key questions to the ECI—authority, procedure, and timing—highlight concerns about democratic rights, with further hearings scheduled. Opposition protests, including a “chakka jam” led by Rahul Gandhi and Tejashwi Yadav on July 9, 2025, underscore the issue’s political sensitivity. [Rh/Eth/VP]