Multiple petitions have been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the ECI’s voter list revision in Bihar, alleging it unfairly targets marginalized communities.
Critics say the exercise imposes unrealistic deadlines and burdens voters with proving citizenship through restricted documentation.
Petitioners warn the revision resembles the NRC and could disenfranchise millions ahead of Bihar’s elections, with potential plans to extend it to West Bengal.
The Supreme Court has received a flurry of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) June 24 order to carry out a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, a move critics say could disenfranchise millions ahead of the upcoming state elections.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha is the latest to file a plea, contending that the ECI’s exercise amounts to “institutionalised disenfranchisement” targeting Muslims, Dalits, and economically vulnerable migrant workers. His petition argues the process is rushed, ill-timed during Bihar’s monsoon season—when floods displace large populations—and places an unfair burden on voters to prove citizenship through limited documentation.
Jha noted that approximately 4.74 crore of Bihar’s nearly 7.9 crore registered voters may struggle to comply with stringent deadlines requiring submission of enumeration forms within 30 days, followed by a similarly tight window for filing claims and objections. Many migrant workers—some listed in electoral rolls since 2003—are unlikely to return in time, risking automatic deletion of their names.
Similar petitions have been submitted by Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), political activist Yogendra Yadav, and the People’s Union for Civil Liberties. Moitra’s plea not only challenges the Bihar exercise but also seeks to prevent the ECI from replicating the process in West Bengal later this year.
Petitioners have likened the SIR framework to the controversial National Register of Citizens (NRC), warning it could lead to mass exclusions without adequate safeguards. They also argue that the revision is unconstitutional, violates the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, and undermines free and fair elections—a cornerstone of India’s democracy.
(This story is published from a syndicated feed)