New Delhi: The Election Commission of India [ECI] on September 1 submitted before the Supreme Court [SC] that claims and objections for voter registration in the Bihar draft roll will be considered even after the September 1 deadline and that they will be considered after the roll has been finalised.
The poll panel during the hearing in SC submitted that the process will continue until the last date of nominations and all inclusions or exclusions are integrated in the final roll.
The SC bench comprising of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, after taking note of the Commission’s submission, did not pass any order to extend the September 1 deadline on applications filed by political parties seeking to extend the deadline by two weeks.
It also asked the Bihar Legal Services Authority (BLSA) to issue instructions to all district legal service authorities to depute or notify para-legal volunteers to assist voters or political parties for online submission of claims, objections, and corrections.
Aadhaar cant be standalone proof of citizenship
The SC bench during the hearing also cleared that it cannot enhance the status of Aadhaar beyond what is ascribed to it by Aadhaar Act.
“We cannot enhance the status of Aadhaar beyond what is ascribed to it by Aadhaar Act. We can also not go beyond what was said by a five-judge bench in Puttaswamy judgement while upholding Aadhaar,” said the bench while responding to RJD counsel Prashant Bhushan who had submitted that the ECI is not accepting Aadhaar as a standalone proof of identity for the deleted voters.
The bench noted that Aadhaar will be one of the documents for verification. “Why is there so much of emphasis on Aadhaar? We will not pass an order that Aadhaar is the final proof of citizenship,” said the SC bench.
Appearing for ECI, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi informed the bench that the “repeated pleadings for Aadhaar is because there are certain districts in Bihar where Aadhaar situation is 140 per cent.”
The ECI’s counsel further pointed out that political parties are filing objections seeking deletion of voters from the draft list and not any claims for inclusion.
Meanwhile, the Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar on Sunday informed that they have received request from the head of the district congress committees of Indian National Congress to remove names of approx. 89 lakh voters of Bihar.
The CEO, Bihar noted that although the objections provided by the heads of the district congress committees are not in prescribed format, the District Electoral Officers are forwarding the objection to relevant Election Registration Officers[EROs].
इंडियन नेशनल कांग्रेस की दिनांक 31.8.2025 की प्रेस कॉन्फ्रेंस के संबंध में प्रेस विज्ञप्ति @ECISVEEP pic.twitter.com/EhxkY20kVP
— Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar (@CEOBihar) August 31, 2025
SC on August 22 had ordered that the persons who are excluded from the draft electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar can submit their applications for inclusion through online mode and that physical submission of forms is not necessary.
The bench had also asked all the 12 political parties in Bihar to issue specific directions to party workers to assist people in filing and submission of requisite forms with any 11 documents in Form 6 or Aadhaar Card to get themselves included in the voters list. The court was hearing a batch of pleas filed by a few opposition leaders and NGOs, opposing the ECI’s revision drive.
The ECI however on Monday informed the court that no party, except the Rashtriya Janata Dal [RJD] and the CPI(M), have assisted the voters in filing objections.
The Commission till September 1 morning has received a total of 25 request for inclusion of voters and 119 for exclusion of voters from the draft electoral list by political parties.
ECI’s voter revision drive in Bihar
ECI started an intensive voter revision drive in the state on June 25 with an aim to overhaul the state’s electoral list by September 30.
The Commission on August 1 published the draft electoral list, disclosing that around 65 lakh voters registered in the electoral list previously are either found to be deceased, permanently migrated or enrolled at multiple places.
The poll body since the publication of the draft list has urged the political parties or voters to submit Claims or Objections regarding inclusion or exclusion of any individual from the draft electoral list in a window opening from August 1 to September 1, 2025.
The poll panel on September 1 informed that a total of 36,475 request for inclusion in the draft voter list has been received directly from the voters while over 2,17000 claims and objection have been received for exclusion from the list.
Please Read #Bihar #SIR DAILY BULLETIN: 1st Aug(3 PM) till 1 Sept (10 AM)at:https://t.co/52eKEFIxO6
Other Ref. Links:
Link 1: https://t.co/qqHHpqJp3F
Link 2: https://t.co/6GlXD5AP4r
Link 3: https://t.co/s2OXIwmQqP
Link 4: https://t.co/QgxL3EKrhF
Link 5: https://t.co/9YFdna19q0 pic.twitter.com/Ly6xMCzeGO— Election Commission of India (@ECISVEEP) September 1, 2025
As per SIR orders, no name can be deleted from the draft list publishing on August 1, 2025 without passing a speaking order by the ERO/AERO after conducting an enquiry and after giving a fair and reasonable opportunity.
Read more at: CEO Bihar debunks The Wire, Newslaundary reports on SIR
The Commission had also uploaded the list of names and details of 65 lakh electors excluded from the roll published on August 1 on the websites of all 38 District Electoral Officers in the state.
The uploaded list also contained the reasons for the non-inclusion of previously enrolled electors, including death, shifting of ordinary residence or duplicate entries.
As per poll panel, physical copies of the list are also displayed in Panchayat Bhavans, block development offices, and Panchayat offices in villages across Bihar.
[With inputs from agencies]
