Poll Body Tells Supreme Court: No Bihar Voter Will Be Dropped Without Notice

Poll Body Tells Supreme Court: The Election Commission has filed an affidavit in the Supreme Court regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, saying no one will be deleted from the list without prior notice to the individual and an opportunity to be heard.

The Commission alleged the petitioners challenging the revisions were trying to mislead the court and asked the top court to impose “heavy costs” for this. But the poll body assured it will follow the principle of natural justice.

The poll body made the assurance in the affidavit filed on Saturday, days after the top court asked it to respond to allegations that over 6.5 million names were deleted from Bihar’s draft electoral rolls without transparency during the SIR exercise. The exercise was ordered on June 24, just a few months before the assembly elections.

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"As a matter of policy and in strict adherence to the principles of natural justice, no deletion of any elector's name from the draft electoral roll, published on 1st August 2025, shall be undertaken without issuance of a prior notice to the elector indicating the proposed deletion and the grounds thereof...," the commission said.

It also said every voter will be given “affordable reasonable opportunity of being heard and furnishing relevant documents” and a “reasoned order” and listed a series of measures involving booth-level visits, participation of political parties, awareness campaigns and assistance for vulnerable groups for the drive.

The Commission said it had taken “every possible step” to ensure no eligible voter was left out.

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It further said a two-tier appeal system ensures every voter has sufficient recourse against any adverse action.

“Even in cases where any vulnerable elector does not presently possess any documents, he/she would be facilitated in the process of obtaining such documents," the Commission said, adding, “Out of 7.89 crore electors, over 7.24 crore submitted their enumeration forms."

The Commission said for the scrutiny period from August 1 to September 1, printed and digital versions of the draft roll have been shared with political parties and the public can access it online.

In the affidavit it said a broad plan to increase voter participation involving large-scale awareness campaigns, repeated visits by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to engage with communities and other focused outreach measures.

Further the poll body said under existing regulations it is not required to publish a separate list of individuals excluded from the draft voter list.

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