Bihar SIR row: SC asks EC to disclose details of 65 lakh dropped voters

New Delhi: Issuing a slew of directions, the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish the details of 65 lakh voters whose names were dropped from the draft roll published on August 1.

The bench was acting on a batch of pleas challenging the ECI decision to conduct the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi asked the poll panel to publish the details of 65 lakh voters whose names were dropped from the draft roll published on August 1.

"The list of approximately 65 lakh voters, whose names appeared in the voter list as on 2025 but are not included in the draft roll dated August 1, 2025, shall be displayed on the websites of the district election officers (District-wise)," it said.

The top court said the information will be booth-wise, but it can be accessed by referring to the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number of each voter.

"The list so displayed shall also disclose the reason for non-inclusion in the draft roll," the bench said.

The chief electoral officer of Bihar, the bench said, will also get the soft copies of the district-wise lists of the voters who have not been included in the draft roll, along with the reasons for their non-inclusion, displayed on its website.

The eight-page order read, "It is clarified that the lists so displayed in all the websites shall be in searchable mode with the EPIC number." In addition, the booth-wise lists of 65 lakh voters whose names were not included in the draft roll, should also be displayed on the notice board of respective panchayat bhavan and offices of the block development officer/panchayat officers to enable the general public to have access to the voters lists along with the reasons for non-inclusion of their names, it added.

"With a view to inform the people about online availability of the above-mentioned lists on the websites of the district election officer and the display of such lists at the panchayat bhavans and the offices of the block Development/Panchayat Officers, extensive publicity shall be given in the daily newspapers in the vernacular language as well as English newspapers having wide circulation in the state of Bihar," the order said.

The top court directed the same to be broadcast and telecast via radio and electronic media.

"If the district election officers/Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar, have any official social media accounts, the public notice may also be displayed on those profiles also,” the bench said.

The public notice, the court said, should also expressly mention that the aggrieved persons can submit their claims along with a copy of their Aadhaar card.

"The Election Commission of India shall obtain a compliance report from all the booth level officers and District Election Officers and place it on record as a collated status report," the bench said and posted the matter for August 22.