ADR moves SC against Bihar voter roll revision

NGO warns of wide exclusion of voters

Photo for representational intent only. File photo

Apprehending imaginable disenfranchisement of astir 3 crore voters, the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) connected Saturday moved the Supreme Court questioning the Election Commission’s determination to behaviour a Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls (SIR) successful Bihar, which is acceptable to spell to polls successful October-November 2025.

The EC had announced connected June 24 its determination to transportation retired the SIR successful Bihar — the archetypal specified workout since 2003 — to region ineligible individuals and guarantee lone eligible citizens are included successful the electoral rolls. The EC cited accelerated urbanisation, predominant migration, young citizens becoming eligible voters, non-reporting of deaths and the inclusion of names of overseas amerciable immigrants arsenic reasons necessitating the revision. The committee stated that the workout aims to guarantee the integrity and accuracy of the electoral rolls. Booth officers are conducting a house-to-house survey for verification arsenic portion of the SIR.

The EC asserted it would strictly adhere to law and ineligible provisions nether Article 326 of the Constitution and Section 16 of the Representation of the People Act portion conducting the revision.

However, the ADR, successful its petition filed done advocator Prashant Bhushan, urged the Supreme Court to quash the EC’s SIR order, calling it arbitrary and successful usurpation of Articles 14, 19, 21, 325, and 326 of the Constitution, arsenic good arsenic provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and Rule 21A of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960. The NGO besides sought an contiguous enactment connected the implementation of the June 24 bid pending the court’s decision.

The ADR argued that the documentation requirements, deficiency of owed process and unreasonably abbreviated timeline for the SIR successful Bihar could pb to the removal of lakhs of genuine voters from the electoral rolls, efficaciously disenfranchising them. It alleged that the EC’s bid could arbitrarily portion voting rights from lakhs of citizens without owed process, undermining escaped and just elections.