- By Talibuddin Khan
- Tue, 29 Jul 2025 01:40 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
Bihar SIR News: The Supreme Court on Tuesday remarked that it will "immediately step in" if there is a mass exclusion of voters following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar. The top court also fixed the timeline to hear the batch of pleas against Bihar SIR and said that the hearing in the matter will take place on August 12 and August 13.
Appearing for the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), senior advocate Prashant Bhushan highlighted the Election Commission's statement that 65 lakh persons have not submitted the enumeration forms during the SIR process. Taking cognisance of the argument, a bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi asked the petitioners to file their written submissions by August 8 and appointed nodal officers from both sides for filing written submissions.
Bihar SIR: What SC Observed Today
During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for petitioners challenging the SIR, alleged that people are being left out of the draft list to be published on August 1 by the poll panel, and they will lose their crucial right to vote. Prashant Bhushan further said that the persons whose names have been excluded from the list will have to apply afresh for inclusion in the Bihar electoral roll.
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The court, meanwhile, assured the petitioners and said, "we are overviewing the thing as a judicial authority. If there is mass exclusion, we will immediately step in." Justice Surya Kant-led bench further said that the Election Commission is a constitutional body, and it has to abide by the law.
The bench further said that if any wrong is being committed, the petitioners can bring it to the notice of the court. "You bring 15 people who they claim are dead but are alive, we will deal with it," the bench told Sibal and Bhushan.
This came after the Supreme Court on Monday asked the Election Commission to continue accepting Aadhaar and Voter ID cards as admissible documents to prove the identity of voters for the SIR exercise in Bihar.
Citing "presumption of genuineness", it said, "as far as ration cards are concerned, we can say they can be forged easily but Aadhaar and voter cards have some sanctity and have presumption of genuineness. You continue accepting these documents."
ALSO READ: Bihar Voter List Revision: SC Refuses To Stop EC Exercise, Asks To Consider Aadhaar And EPIC
Bihar SIR: What Election Commission Has Said
The Election Commission, during the hearing last week, had said that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship or domicile, and once all the application forms have come, then the stage of objection and claims will begin. The poll panel had said that if someone objects that this person is not who he claims to be, then Aadhaar can be used.
The poll panel further said that electors who have not submitted their forms will still be entitled to seek inclusion in the final roll by filing a claim in the prescribed form along with the required declaration till September 1.
"Therefore, any person excluded from the draft roll has another opportunity to be included by submitting the form with the necessary declaration and documents. This claims period will remain open for 31 days following the publication of the draft roll, i.e., until September 1, 2025," the Commission said in an affidavit filed before the Supreme Court.
After the completion of the entire process, the final roll will be published on September 30. The ECI also submitted that even after the final roll is published, new electors may still be enrolled up to the last date for filing nominations for the upcoming Bihar Assembly elections.
Bihar SIR: What Petitioners Are Demanding
The petitions challenging the ECI decision were filed by Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), PUCL, activist Yogendra Yadav, Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, and former Bihar MLA Mujahid Alam. The petitions sought a direction to quash the ECI's June 24 directive, which requires large sections of voters in Bihar to submit proof of citizenship to remain on the electoral rolls.
ADR, in its petition, has submitted that the ECI order imposes new documentation requirements and shifts the burden of proof from the state to the citizen. The petition also raised 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.
(With Agencies Inputs)