SC to consider on July 10 pleas against EC's decision to carry out SIR in Bihar's electoral roll

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Monday decided to consider on July 10 a batch of petitions challenging validity of the Election Commission's June 24 decision to conduct a special intensive revision of Electoral Rolls in Bihar, just month ahead of the Assembly polls in November, this year.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners  sought urgent hearing before a bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi. He said notice has to be issued in the matter.

The bench agreed to examine the matter on Thursday.

NGOs Association for Democratic Reforms, PUCL, TMC MP Mahua Moitra and RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha and activist Yogendra Yadav, among others have filed separate petitions challenging the validity of the Election Commission's June 24, 2025 communication.

The petitioners claimed the move was in violation of Articles 14, 19, 21, 325 and 326 of the Constitution as well as provisions of Representation of People’s Act, 1950 and Rule 21A of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

The SIR order, if not set aside, can arbitrarily and without due process disenfranchise lakhs of voters from electing their representatives, thereby disrupting free and fair elections and democracy in the country, which are part of basic structure of the Constitution, they claimed.

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, they claimed.

"An illegal exercise, also hastily conducted to cover a population of almost 8 crore is likely to result in exclusion of voters and thereby defeat democracy using the very tools of democracy," it said.

Moitra, in her plea, contended it was for the very first time in the country that such an exercise is being conducted by the EC where electors whose names are already there in the electoral roll and who have voted multiple times are being asked to prove their eligibility.

The requirement to provide citizenship documents is ultra vires Article 326 of the Constitution and introduces extraneous qualifications not contemplated under the Representation of People Act, her plea contended.