The Supreme Court on Monday heard the matter related to the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. During the hearing, the Election Commission of India (ECI) clarified that voters can still file claims and objections even after the September 1 deadline, and all such applications filed before the last date of nominations will be considered.
A Bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi recorded the assurance given by the ECI. The Court noted:
“As regards extension of time, note (submitted by the ECI) says that filing of claims/objections or corrections is not barred after 1 Sept. It is stated that the claims/objections/corrections can be submitted even after the deadline, i.e., after 1 September and same will be considered after roll has been finalized. The process will continue until the last date of nominations and all inclusions/exclusions are integrated in the final roll.”
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Since the ECI agreed to allow applications beyond September 1, the Court did not pass any order extending the deadline.
The Court also directed the Bihar State Legal Services Authority to issue instructions to all district legal services authorities. They have been asked to appoint paralegal volunteers, along with their names and mobile numbers, to help voters and political parties in filing claims, objections, or corrections online.
These volunteers must later submit confidential reports to the concerned District Judge, and the information will be compiled at the State Legal Services Authority level.
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Senior Advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the ECI, informed the Court that political parties were mostly filing objections for deletion of voters rather than claims for inclusion, which he found unusual.
He pointed out that:
- 99.5% of the 7.24 crore voters had already filed forms.
- Out of 65 lakh excluded voters, only 33,326 individuals and 25 claims by parties were submitted for inclusion after the Court’s order of August 22.
- 1,34,738 objections had been filed for exclusion.
On the other hand, several advocates for political parties raised concerns:
- Prashant Bhushan said ECI officials were not following their own manuals.
- Nizam Pasha argued that Booth Level Officers (BLOs) were refusing to accept forms.
- Shoeb Alam, appearing for the RJD, said there was very little time after the Court allowed Aadhaar-based inclusion on August 22.
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The applications for deadline extension were filed by leaders like RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha and Bihar MLA Akhtarul Iman. Earlier, on August 22, the Court had allowed excluded voters to apply online with Aadhaar.
Previously, on August 14, the Court directed the ECI to publish the names of 65 lakh excluded voters on the Bihar CEO’s and district websites, along with reasons for their exclusion.
The Court will now hear the matter further on September 8.
Case Name: Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls
Next Hearing: September 8, 2025
