The Supreme Court has refused to stay the process of reviewing the voter list in Bihar. The SIR process will now continue. The next hearing will be on July 28.
Bihar Voter List: The Supreme Court continues to hear arguments regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar. Despite objections from the petitioners, the court has refused to stay this process. The court has also posed several important questions to the Election Commission, which the commission is now responsible for answering. The next hearing will be held on July 28, 2025.
Can people be removed from the valid voter list in the SIR process?
During the hearing, the court asked a crucial question: If a person is already on the voter list in 2025 but fails to fill out the form, will their name remain on the list? The commission responded that yes, the name will remain, but filling out the form is necessary. If a person does not fill out the form, their status will become unclear.
Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi objected, stating that a legal process must be followed to remove a person from the voter list. Removing someone's name solely for not filling out a form violates constitutional rights.
Supreme Court's comments on the role of the court and the commission
The Supreme Court clarified that the duty of both the judiciary and the Election Commission is to maintain the system of governance in accordance with the Constitution and the law. The commission informed that out of approximately 4.96 crore eligible citizens, about 3.8 crore have filled out the form. The commission stated that this exercise is necessary because 1.1 crore people have died in the last 20 years, and approximately 70 lakh have migrated.
Door-to-door survey and the role of BLOs
The Election Commission informed the court that one lakh BLOs (Booth Level Officers) and one and a half lakh BLAs (Booth Level Agents) are involved in this campaign. These individuals are going door-to-door to collect forms. Each BLA is submitting approximately 50 forms per day.
The commission also stated that voters whose names are on the 2003 list only need to fill out the form. New voters will have to submit documents.
Court's objection regarding Aadhaar card
During the hearing, the court questioned the Election Commission on not considering the Aadhaar card as a proof of identity. The commission said that the Aadhaar card is not proof of citizenship. It is only an identification document. The court responded that if you include someone in the voter list solely on the basis of citizenship, then this process falls under the purview of the Ministry of Home Affairs. There is a judicial process for proving citizenship, and the Election Commission's involvement is not appropriate.
Questions on the process of removing names from the voter list
Singhvi said that there is a legal process for removing a person's name from the voter list. This process begins only when an objection is raised against someone, and it is resolved after a hearing. But in the current SIR process, 4 to 7 crore people are being suspended on the grounds that their names will be removed from the list if they do not fill out the form.
The court asked the Election Commission what mechanism is in place for appeals and hearings. Citing the Supreme Court's previous decision (Lal Babu case), the court said that the person objecting to someone's removal from the list must have evidence.
Objections from the petitioners and the court's response
Advocate Gopal Shankar Narayanan argued that the SIR process is against the rules and discriminatory. He alleged that citizens who became voters after January 1, 2003, are being asked for documents, while the old voters are not. This is a double standard. He said that the annual review of the voter list has already been done. In such a situation, there is no need for special revision now.
