New Delhi – Facing criticism over the removal of lakhs of names from Bihar’s electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), the Election Commission of India (ECI) has told the Supreme Court that no eligible voter will be struck off without due process, prior intimation, and a clear written order.
In an affidavit filed ahead of the August 12 hearing, the Commission emphasised that it has directed officials to strictly follow protocols to prevent wrongful deletions. As per the submission, deletions from the draft rolls published on August 1 will only be made after:
1. Issuing prior notice to the concerned voter, stating the reason for proposed deletion.
2. Providing a fair chance to respond and present relevant documents.
3. Passing a reasoned and documented order by the competent authority.
The ECI highlighted that this framework is backed by a two-tier appeal process to ensure voters have recourse against any adverse decision.
To avoid missing out on those who failed to fill their enumeration forms or whose names are absent for any reason, the Commission said it had issued public notices—especially in Hindi—informing citizens about timelines, application methods, and the claims-and-objections period before the final list is published on September 30.
The affidavit responds to an August 6 Supreme Court directive seeking details on the 65 lakh deletions from Bihar’s draft rolls. The EC maintains that of these, 22.34 lakh were deceased, 36.28 lakh had permanently moved, and 7.01 lakh were registered in multiple places.
Petitioner Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) had asked the court to order publication of the deleted names, categorised by reason for removal. Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing ADR, alleged that many voters were included on the recommendation of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) without required documents, and that political parties were given incomplete deletion lists.
The EC countered that a 10-point verification system—including booth-level surveys, involvement of political parties, targeted awareness drives, and assistance to vulnerable groups—was in place to minimise errors.
Explaining the SIR process, the Commission said BLOs visited every household to collect enumeration forms, and the names of omitted individuals were shared with political party agents on July 20, 12 days before publishing the draft rolls, allowing corrections. Updated lists were again circulated among party representatives.
The large-scale exercise involved the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar, 38 District Election Officers, 243 Electoral Registration Officers, 2,976 Assistant EROs, nearly 78,000 BLOs, over 2.45 lakh volunteers, and more than 1.6 lakh Booth Level Agents of recognised parties.
Additional outreach included SMS alerts, repeated BLO visits, urban enrolment camps, advertisements in 246 newspapers, and a special enrolment drive for youth turning 18 before October 1, 2025. Provisions were also made for senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and other vulnerable voters to obtain required documents, with district officials tasked to resolve issues promptly.
