The Supreme Court on Thursday said that the Election Commission’s decision of special intensive revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar is constitutional. The hearing took place on the petitions filed against this revision which started before the Bihar assembly elections. The bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi heard the arguments of both sides. The Election Commission said that this process is necessary under Article 326 of the Constitution, which allows Indian citizens over 18 years of registration as voters.
This SIR campaign, which started in Bihar on 25 June 2025, is in controversy. Opposition parties, social workers and organizations described it as unconstitutional and arbitrary. The petitioners include RJD MP Manoj Jha, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, Congress, NCP (Sharad Pawar), CPI, SP, Shiv Sena (UBT), and others. He claimed that this process could deprive Muslim, Dalit and poor migrant communities of franchise. The petitions said that voters have been burdened to prove citizenship, and documents like Aadhaar card and ration card are not being recognized.
The Election Commission said that out of 7.9 crore voters, 57.5% submitted calculation forms in 15 days. This campaign is to remove illegal migrants from the voter list. The Commission said that those who did not submit documents till July 25 will get a chance during the claim and objection. The Supreme Court asked the petitioners not to call this process ‘artificial’, because there is an argument behind it. The court also clarified that the removal of non-citizens is the right of the Ministry of Home Affairs, not the Election Commission.
The opposition called it a conspiracy to remove voters in favor of the ruling parties. This is the first SIR in Bihar after 2003. The court has reserved the decision on the petitions.
