NEW DELHI: The Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and the Trinamool Congress (TMC) have both approached the Supreme Court , challenging the Election Commission’s (EC) decision to carry out a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar just months ahead of the Assembly elections.
The two parties have accused the ECI of carrying out the exercise at the behest of the ruling BJP, warning that it could exclude lakhs of voters—particularly the poor, migrants, and the marginalised.
RJD MP Manoj Jha, who filed the petition on behalf of his party, said the exercise was designed not to include new voters but to "exclude" existing ones. “SIR is such an exercise, it is being said that, it will be done in entire India after Bihar,” Jha had said earlier in the day. “They want 11 documents… It is not suggested in Article 326 or the Representation of People’s Act. Bihar is a document-deficit state. Now all in all, they are not including people but excluding.”
Jha also raised questions over the haste in the process: “They want to do this exercise in 25 days... I feel that the ECI should think about taking decisions after taking people in confidence.”
TMC MP Mahua Moitra also moved the apex court, calling the SIR process a direct violation of democratic rights. “This special intensive revision is violative,” she said, referencing Articles 14, 19, 21, 325 and 326 of the Constitution, as well as the Representation of People’s Act and the Registration of Electors Rules.
According to Moitra, the SIR introduces 11 new documents as eligibility proof, excluding common IDs like Aadhaar and ration cards. “This will disenfranchise two and a half to three crore people in Bihar,” she warned, adding that the process could soon be implemented in West Bengal.
“The Election Commissioner of India has taken it upon itself to become an arm of the BJP… This is a great shame,” Moitra added.
Initial phase of Bihar SIR completed: EC
Earlier, defending the revision, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said nearly every political party in Bihar had raised concerns about inaccuracies in the voters’ list, prompting the EC to act. He stressed that those who were listed in the 2003 roll need not submit any birth-related documents. But for those born after 1987, documents proving a parent’s place of birth are required, and for those born after 2004, proof for both parents is necessary.
In a statement on Sunday, the ECI said the initial phase—printing and distributing enumeration forms—was almost complete. As of now, over 1.69 crore forms have been received, covering about 21.46% of Bihar’s 7.90 crore electors. Nearly 65 lakh forms were collected within the last 24 hours alone.
The uploading of forms is also underway, with 7.25% already uploaded. A total of 77,895 booth-level officers are involved in house-to-house visits, supported by 20,000 additional officers and nearly 4 lakh volunteers, including NCC and NSS members. The final date for form submission is July 25. The draft electoral roll is scheduled to be published on August 1.
The EC insists that the exercise is intended to weed out ineligible and non-resident voters, including illegal immigrants. The revision, which began on June 24, is scheduled to run until July 25, and is being carried out by over one lakh booth-level officers across Bihar.
The two parties have accused the ECI of carrying out the exercise at the behest of the ruling BJP, warning that it could exclude lakhs of voters—particularly the poor, migrants, and the marginalised.
RJD MP Manoj Jha, who filed the petition on behalf of his party, said the exercise was designed not to include new voters but to "exclude" existing ones. “SIR is such an exercise, it is being said that, it will be done in entire India after Bihar,” Jha had said earlier in the day. “They want 11 documents… It is not suggested in Article 326 or the Representation of People’s Act. Bihar is a document-deficit state. Now all in all, they are not including people but excluding.”
Jha also raised questions over the haste in the process: “They want to do this exercise in 25 days... I feel that the ECI should think about taking decisions after taking people in confidence.”
TMC MP Mahua Moitra also moved the apex court, calling the SIR process a direct violation of democratic rights. “This special intensive revision is violative,” she said, referencing Articles 14, 19, 21, 325 and 326 of the Constitution, as well as the Representation of People’s Act and the Registration of Electors Rules.
The @ECISVEEP is now @BJP4India ‘s arm - executing its Machiavellian plans on ground. Has forgotten its constitutional mandate to providing enabling services to citizens to exercise their franchise. pic.twitter.com/rRKI6pmXwg
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) July 6, 2025
According to Moitra, the SIR introduces 11 new documents as eligibility proof, excluding common IDs like Aadhaar and ration cards. “This will disenfranchise two and a half to three crore people in Bihar,” she warned, adding that the process could soon be implemented in West Bengal.
“The Election Commissioner of India has taken it upon itself to become an arm of the BJP… This is a great shame,” Moitra added.
Initial phase of Bihar SIR completed: EC
Earlier, defending the revision, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar said nearly every political party in Bihar had raised concerns about inaccuracies in the voters’ list, prompting the EC to act. He stressed that those who were listed in the 2003 roll need not submit any birth-related documents. But for those born after 1987, documents proving a parent’s place of birth are required, and for those born after 2004, proof for both parents is necessary.
In a statement on Sunday, the ECI said the initial phase—printing and distributing enumeration forms—was almost complete. As of now, over 1.69 crore forms have been received, covering about 21.46% of Bihar’s 7.90 crore electors. Nearly 65 lakh forms were collected within the last 24 hours alone.
The uploading of forms is also underway, with 7.25% already uploaded. A total of 77,895 booth-level officers are involved in house-to-house visits, supported by 20,000 additional officers and nearly 4 lakh volunteers, including NCC and NSS members. The final date for form submission is July 25. The draft electoral roll is scheduled to be published on August 1.
The EC insists that the exercise is intended to weed out ineligible and non-resident voters, including illegal immigrants. The revision, which began on June 24, is scheduled to run until July 25, and is being carried out by over one lakh booth-level officers across Bihar.
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