Supreme Court to Hear Bihar Voter Roll Pleas in September

The Supreme Court will hear pleas from the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and All India Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (AIMIM) on September 1, seeking to extend the deadline for filing claims and objections in Bihar’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, set to expire the same day. The urgent hearing, scheduled by a bench of Justices Surya Kant, Joymalya Bagchi, and Vipul M. Pancholi, follows confusion over an initial court order mistakenly listing the date as September 8, which was corrected on Saturday after objections from petitioners.

The SIR, the first comprehensive voter list revision in Bihar since 2003, has reduced registered voters from 7.9 crore to 7.24 crore, sparking allegations of voter suppression. The RJD, represented by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Fauzia Shakil, reported a surge in claims, with 1,78,948 filed by August 27, doubling from 84,305 on August 22, after the court permitted Aadhaar as valid proof. The party, with booth-level agents (BLAs) in 47,506 of 90,712 polling booths, alleges that booth-level officers (BLOs) often reject Aadhaar-based claims, disregarding the court’s August 22 order, and fail to reflect submissions in daily Election Commission of India (ECI) reports, creating a false narrative of non-cooperation.

AIMIM, represented by advocate Nizam Pasha, seeks a four-week extension, citing 80,000 claims filed before the August 22 order and 95,000 after, with numbers rising exponentially. Both parties argue that the September 1 deadline risks disenfranchising genuine voters, especially with floods affecting 12 districts, hindering verification efforts. The RJD seeks a two-week extension to September 15, noting the ECI’s manual prohibits suo motu deletions in election years, yet 65 lakh voters were excluded, including 22.34 lakh deceased, 36.28 lakh shifted, and 7.01 lakh duplicates.

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On August 14, the Supreme Court ordered the ECI to publish details of the excluded 65 lakh voters by August 19 for transparency and to accept Aadhaar alongside 11 other documents. The August 22 ruling further allowed online submissions, boosting claims. However, petitioners claim the ECI has not fully complied, with BLOs insisting on Form 6 and additional documents, complicating re-inclusion. Bhushan noted that requests to the ECI for an extension were ignored, prompting the court filing.

The controversy, fueled by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s “vote chori” allegations against the BJP, RSS, and ECI, has intensified political tensions ahead of Bihar’s October-November 2025 elections. The ECI defends the SIR, citing the need for error-free rolls, with 1.62 lakh claims processed and 17,516 resolved. As the court prepares to rule, the outcome will shape voter participation and electoral integrity in Bihar.

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