Slew of pleas in SC against Bihar voter list revision; EC clarifies no change in process after Oppn parties cite its ad

New Delhi/Patna, Jul 6 (PTI) The controversy over special intensive revision of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar intensified as Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, RJD's Manoj Jha and several NGOs moved the Supreme Court seeking quashing of the Election Commission's order, which they claimed violated the Constitution.

The Election Commission (EC) issued a statement on Sunday clarifying that it has not changed its instructions on the revision process, after several social media posts, including one by Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, cited an advertisement by the election body published in newspapers to suggest that showing documents is not necessary.

The Congress and other INDIA bloc parties have been opposing the provision whereby voters whose names were included in the electoral roll after 2003 are required to submit documents related to birth.

"Why are people who have been voting in election after election being asked to show their documents for voting ?" Kharge said in a post on X.

"When the pressure from the opposition, the public and civil society increased, the Election Commission hurriedly published these advertisements today, which state that now only a form needs to be filled and showing documents is not necessary," he claimed.

In a statement, the Election Commission made it clear that while voters were required to "submit their documents anytime before July 25, 2025", those who failed to do so would get an opportunity "during the Claims & Objections period also".

The EC also urged people to "beware of statements being made by a few persons, who without reading the SIR order dated 24 June 2025.... are attempting to confuse the public with their incorrect and misleading statements".

Trinamool Congress leader Mahua Moitra, who moved the apex court seeking quashing of the June 24 order of the EC under which Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is being conducted, alleged that it violates several provisions of the Constitution and the Representation of People (RP) Act, 1950.

If not set aside, it can lead to large-scale disenfranchisement of eligible voters in the country, thereby undermining democracy and free and fair elections, her plea submitted.

"The present writ petition has been filed in public interest under Article 32 of the Constitution seeking setting aside of order dated 24.06.2025 issued by Election Commission of India under which SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar is being conducted in violation of Articles 14, 19(1)(a), 21, 325, 328 of the Constitution and provisions of Representation of People (RP) Act, 1950 and Registration of Electors (RER) Rules, 1960...," the plea said.

Moitra also sought a direction from the apex court to restrain the Election Commission from issuing similar orders for SIR of electoral rolls in other states of the country.

"They have now introduced it to deprive the bonafide young electorate of Bihar, where elections are slated to be held shortly. Later, they will target Bengal, where elections are due in 2026," Moitra told PTI Videos.

Rastriya Janata Dal's Rajya Sabha MP Manoj Jha, in his plea filed through advocate Fauzia Shakil, alleged that the EC's order violated Articles 14, 21, 325 and 326 of the Constitution of India.

The Rajya Sabha MP alleged that the impugned order "is a tool of institutionalised disenfranchisement and it is being used to justify aggressive and opaque revisions of electoral rolls that disproportionately target Muslim, Dalit and poor migrant communities, as such, they are not random patterns but it is engineered exclusions.” A similar plea has also been filed by the NGO Association of Democratic Reforms through advocate Prashant Bhushan. Several other civil society organisations like PUCL and activists like Yogendra Yadav have approached the top court against the EC’s direction.

The last such revision in Bihar was conducted in 2003.

However, Leader of Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly Suvendu Adhikari on Sunday welcomed the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar and said such an exercise should also be conducted in the Trinamool Congress-ruled state.

While the opposition has been questioning the timing and intent of the exercise, the BJP has defended it.

According to the EC, the exercise was necessitated by rapid urbanisation, frequent migration, young citizens becoming eligible to vote, non-reporting of deaths, and inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants.

The EC said it will scrupulously adhere to the constitutional and legal provisions as laid down in Article 326 of the Constitution and Section 16 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, in carrying out the revision. PTI NAC/MNL/SKC/BDC/SUSD/NAB RT RT