Bihar Voter List Revision: The 2025 SIR and Supreme Court Verdict Explained

Supreme Court upholds the Bihar SIR Supreme Court

The ruling: Disposing of the petitions led by the Association for Democratic Reforms, the Court held that the revision was traceable to Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 read with Article 324, that it met the proportionality test and that the safeguards of notice and hearing were preserved in substance.

The limit: The Election Commission may make a limited inquiry into citizenship to decide eligibility for the roll, but that is not a determination of citizenship. Where it is not satisfied, it must refer the person to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act, 1955, and any deletion on that ground stays subject to the result.

The direction: People removed from the 2003-based roll because the Commission thought they were not citizens are to be referred within four weeks, with a decision preferably before the next election. Bihar residents wrongly deleted as absent, dead, shifted or duplicate may seek judicial review.

Judgment reserved after 29 days of arguments Supreme Court

The hearing: The bench reserved its verdict after hearing the petitioners, including Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Gopal Sankaranarayanan and Prashant Bhushan, and Yogendra Yadav in person, and the Commission.

Both sides: Most petitions challenged the SIR. At least one, filed in support, asked the Court to require such revisions at regular intervals.

Phase two of the SIR across 12 states and UTs Election Commission

The announcement: With Bihar complete, the Commission announced a second phase covering 12 states and union territories, among them Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. House-to-house enumeration began on 4 November 2025.

Assam: Assam was left out; the Commission said a separate provision of the Citizenship Act applies there.

Bihar votes on the revised roll Elections and law

Turnout: The Commission’s final figure was 67.13 per cent, the highest in a Bihar election since 1951. Women voted at a markedly higher rate than men: about 71.6 per cent against 62.8 per cent in the figures released at the close of polling.

Result: The NDA won 202 of the 243 seats.

Final roll: 7.42 crore electors Roll figures

The figures: From the 7.24 crore in the draft, a further 3.66 lakh names were deleted and 21.53 lakh eligible electors were added through Form 6, leaving about 7.42 crore on the final roll.

Against the start: That is about 47 lakh fewer than the 7.89 crore on the roll on 24 June. The 65 lakh figure belongs to the draft stage, not to the final result.

Aadhaar becomes the 12th document Supreme Court

The order: The Court directed the Commission to treat Aadhaar as a twelfth document for establishing identity when deciding inclusion or exclusion, noting that Section 23(4) of the Representation of the People Act already names it for that purpose.

The limit: It said Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship, and that officials could verify whether a card was genuine.

Claims allowed after the deadline Supreme Court

The Commission’s stand: The Commission told the Court that claims, objections and corrections could be filed even after 1 September and would be considered until the last date of nominations.

Help for voters: The Bihar State Legal Services Authority was told to deploy para-legal volunteers through district authorities to help people file online.

Political parties told to help voters Supreme Court

The order: The Court made six national and six state parties respondents and told them to instruct their Booth Level Agents to help voters file claims, with any of the 11 documents or Aadhaar.

Online claims: Excluded electors could submit claims online, not only in person.

Publish the 65 lakh names, with reasons Supreme Court

The order: The Court directed the Commission to publish a searchable list of the roughly 65 lakh people left out of the draft roll, with the reason for each, and to publicise it in newspapers, on radio and on television.

Why it mattered: People could not challenge an omission they did not know about. The lists were also put up at block offices, panchayat bhawans and polling booths.

Draft roll: about 65 lakh names not included Roll figures

The draft: The draft roll listed about 7.24 crore electors, against 7.89 crore before the revision.

What it meant: The draft included only those whose enumeration forms had been received. Leaving it was not a final ruling that someone was ineligible: claims and objections were open, and final deletions required an inquiry.

The Commission explains the gap Roll figures

The breakdown: About 22 lakh electors were recorded as deceased, about 36 lakh as permanently shifted or not found, and about 7 lakh as enrolled at more than one place.

Forms received: The Commission said forms had been received from about 7.24 crore electors.

Supreme Court declines to stop the exercise Supreme Court

No stay: The Court let the revision continue and framed three questions: the Commission’s power to order it, the procedure including how citizenship was checked, and its timing so close to the election.

Documents: It asked the Commission to consider accepting Aadhaar, the Elector Photo Identity Card and ration cards in addition to the 11 listed documents.

Booth Level Officers go door to door Election Commission

The process: BLOs distributed pre-filled enumeration forms to every elector and collected them, with an option to submit online.

Two routes: About 4.96 crore electors already on the 2003 roll had only to verify their entry. The remaining 2.93 crore or so also had to produce one of 11 listed documents.

The Election Commission orders a Special Intensive Revision Election Commission

The order: Acting under Article 324 and Section 21(3), the Commission directed a fresh, house-to-house revision of Bihar’s entire roll ahead of the Assembly election, citing rapid urbanisation, migration, unreported deaths and duplicate entries since 2003.

The baseline: The 2003 roll, with 1 January 2003 as its qualifying date, was to be treated as evidence of eligibility unless rebutted.

Four qualifying dates a year Elections and law

The change: Instead of a single qualifying date of 1 January, people turning 18 can now enrol against 1 January, 1 April, 1 July or 1 October.

Aadhaar: The same law allowed electoral registration officers to ask for Aadhaar to establish identity, the provision the Supreme Court relied on in 2025.

The last intensive revision cycle History

What happened: Intensive revisions were carried out state by state in 2002, 2003 and 2004.

Bihar: Bihar’s took place in 2003. For 22 years afterwards its roll was updated only through summary revisions, which is why the 2003 roll became the 2025 reference point.

Revisions and the first photo identity cards History

The revisions: Rolls were intensively revised three times in four years.

Photo identity: From 1993 the Commission began issuing Elector Photo Identity Cards, tying roll entries to a card with a photograph.

Revisions amid concern over migration History

Focus: Intensive revisions in the 1980s paid growing attention to duplicate entries, population movement and the eligibility of those enrolled.

Revisions after reorganisation History

Why: The reorganisation of states and the delimitation of constituencies meant rolls had to be redrawn.

Building the first rolls History

The framework: The Constitution provided for one general roll per constituency, open to every adult citizen without exclusion on grounds of religion, race, caste or sex. The 1950 Act set out how rolls were to be prepared and revised.

The first election: For the 1951–52 election many women were recorded only as someone’s wife or daughter, and such entries were struck off. Through 1952–56 the Commission revised rolls intensively in phases, covering parts of each state at a time.