New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday, September 1, declined to extend the deadline for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, even as it highlighted a growing trust deficit between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and political parties.
The court emphasised that voters could still file claims and objections up until the nomination phase, providing sufficient opportunity for correction.
A bench headed by Justice Surya Kant also directed the Bihar Legal Services Authority to deploy volunteers to assist voters in filing claims and objections. The court made it clear that political parties must play a more proactive role, observing that the current number of claims filed remained low. “Please tell your party to activate itself,” the bench told representatives of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
Court Stresses Political Accountability
During the hearing, the bench expressed concern over the limited participation of political parties in the revision process, particularly in light of allegations of widespread exclusions. Petitioners, including RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha and Bihar MLA Akhtarul Iman, had requested an extension of the September 1 deadline, citing the exclusion of nearly 65 lakh voters. However, the court maintained that instead of relying on the disputed aggregate figure, parties must identify specific cases where Aadhaar-related rejections occurred.
The court had earlier directed the ECI to make the list of excluded voters publicly accessible on the Bihar CEO and district portals, with detailed reasons for each exclusion in an EPIC-searchable format. This, the court said, was intended to promote transparency and enable timely rectification.
ECI Assures Continued Window for Claims
In its submission, the Election Commission reiterated that the electoral roll is not final until nominations are filed, and claims and objections can be submitted until that stage. The court was informed that around 80,000 claims had been filed before its previous order, followed by another 95,000 in the following week, demonstrating increased engagement once the issue gained visibility.
The matter will next be heard on 8 September.
