The Supreme Court has scheduled a critical hearing for November 11 on multiple petitions challenging the Election Commission's sweeping pan-India Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, raising alarms over potential threats to democratic fairness. A bench led by Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi agreed to prioritize the cases after senior advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), stressed that the matter strikes at the very foundation of free and fair elections. The court acknowledged scheduling constraints but committed to adjusting its calendar to address this urgent constitutional issue.

Bhushan highlighted the immediacy of the crisis, noting that the SIR process has already begun in various states, potentially altering voter lists on a massive scale ahead of upcoming polls. The petitions argue that the exercise risks disproportionate disenfranchisement and lacks adequate safeguards, especially given its nationwide scope. This development builds on ongoing Supreme Court scrutiny of the Bihar-specific SIR, where similar concerns about voter exclusions have been fiercely debated.

In prior proceedings related to Bihar, the Election Commission defended the SIR as a precise and necessary cleanup, dismissing accusations from opposition parties and NGOs as baseless attempts to undermine public confidence. It reported zero appeals from voters against deletions in the final Bihar roll and refuted claims of targeted removal of Muslim names. The EC revealed that Bihar's electorate shrank by nearly 47 lakh from 7.89 crore pre-SIR to 7.42 crore in the final list published on September 30.

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The Bihar revision process saw an initial draft roll on August 1 with 7.24 crore voters after cutting 65 lakh entries for reasons including deaths, shifts, and duplicates. The final version added 21.53 lakh new voters while removing 3.66 lakh, yielding a net gain of 17.87 lakh electors. These figures have fueled the broader legal challenge, with petitioners questioning the methodology and transparency of such large-scale deletions nationwide.

With Bihar's first phase of assembly elections concluded on Thursday for 121 seats and the second phase coinciding with the Supreme Court hearing on November 11, the outcome could influence not only the ongoing polls but future electoral preparations across India. Counting is set for November 14, making the court's intervention timely as stakes remain high in one of the country's most politically charged states.

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