The Supreme Court on Monday declined to grant an interim stay on the Election Commission of India's (ECI) announcement of releasing the draft electoral rolls in Bihar, after a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in preparation for state elections.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi dismissed the application for interim relief, observing that no such application had been made at the initial proceedings. The judges emphasized that the case would now be disposed of finally on a future date.
With little time on hand, the court adjourned elaborate arguments, declaring that a final schedule for a hearing would be finalized on July 29.
At the short hearing, the bench directed the ECI to make Aadhaar and Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPIC) the basis for proving voter identities.
Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, who appeared on behalf of the ECI, raised questions over the credibility of certain documents, specifically ration cards, with a reference to the presence of many spurious ones. Commenting on this issue, the court stated, "As for ration cards, we can say they can be easily forged, but Aadhaar and voter cards have some sanctity and carry a presumption of authenticity. You go ahead with these two documents (Aadhaar and EPIC). Wherever you find forgery, that's case-to-case basis."
A number of petitions have opposed the June 26 ECI directive regarding the SIR, stating it has the potential to disenfranchise a large section of the voters without a proper process. The petitioners state that this exercise of such fundamental revision—executed in an election-state—is non-transparent and devoid of adequate procedural safeguards, questioning its fairness as well as legality.
In an earlier hearing, the Supreme Court had suggested that the ECI should accept Aadhaar, ration cards, or previous voter ID cards as valid proof of identity for verification of voters.
In its July 10 ruling, the Supreme Court defined three main questions to be considered: if the ECI is empowered by law to conduct a special revision, if its processes are legal, and the timing of the exercise, particularly considering how close it was to state elections.
As per the SIR schedule of the ECI, every person who had filed enumeration forms—irrespective of backing documents—will be included in the draft roll to be published on August 1. People who didn't file forms can still request a place in the final roll by making a claim in writing accompanied by the supporting declaration and evidence.
Thus, any individual left out of the draft roll gets a second chance to be included by filing the form with the required declaration and documents. This period of claims will be kept open for 31 days from the date of publication of the draft roll, i.e., up to September 1, 2025," the Commission said in an affidavit filed in the court.
After the deadline of the claims window, the final electoral roll is to be published on September 30. The ECI also promised that despite this, those who are eligible to vote can register until the last date for submission of nomination for the Bihar Assembly elections.
Read also| TRF ban a diplomatic win; BRICS, China supported Sindoor, says S. Jaishankar in LS
