The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to halt the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, where assembly elections are approaching. A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi, while hearing a group of petitions filed by leaders from 10 opposition parties, noted that none had sought an interim stay on the Special Intensive Revision process. The court issued notices on the petitions and scheduled the next hearing for July 28. The ECI has been asked to file its counter-affidavit by July 21, with rejoinders due by July 28.
While the bench suggested that documents like Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards could be considered for updating the rolls, it also raised concerns over the timing of the Special Intensive Revision. The judges emphasised that they were not questioning the ECI’s integrity or constitutional role but found the schedule of the exercise to be potentially problematic.
During the hearing, the ECI told the court that, under Article 326 of the Constitution, verifying citizenship is essential to qualify as a voter in India. It added that the Special Intensive Revision aims to weed out illegal foreign migrants from the voter rolls in six states, beginning with Bihar.
The bench, questioning the timing of the exercise, expressed concerns that conducting such a revision so close to the state elections could have implications. While the judges made clear that they were not casting doubt on the ECI’s constitutional role or integrity, they noted that the schedule of the SIR raised valid questions.
In a statement to the Times of India, the ECI reaffirmed its commitment to the Constitution, saying, “The Constitution of India is supreme. All citizens, political parties, and the Election Commission of India follow the constitution.’ It also asserted that the SIR in Bihar is already underway with the “full participation of political parties.” As part of the effort, nearly 78,000 booth-level officers (BLOs) have been deployed, with more than 20,000 additional appointments in progress to serve new polling stations.
BJP leader Shahnawaz Hussain stated to the ANI news agency, “Some opposition leaders who do not respect constitutional bodies and the Supreme Court’s judgments are now approaching the Supreme Court to question the Election Commission, a constitutional body.” “The Supreme Court refused to ban it, so they became sad and hopeless…” Currently, the Supreme Court has only provided suggestions and has not compelled the Election Commission to accept them. The Election Commission will decide, and the country respects it, so opposition leaders should also respect it…”
