{"id":54383,"date":"2025-07-11T12:22:28","date_gmt":"2025-07-11T06:52:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=54383"},"modified":"2025-07-12T11:28:01","modified_gmt":"2025-07-12T05:58:01","slug":"sc-on-bihar-electoral-roll-revision","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/sc-on-bihar-electoral-roll-revision\/","title":{"rendered":"SC on Bihar Electoral Roll Revision"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Electoral Roll Revision Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul style=\"text-align: justify;\">\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court of India declined to stay the Election Commission of India\u2019s (ECI) <\/span><b>Special Intensive Revision (SIR) <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">of electoral rolls in Bihar, which is scheduled ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Amid concerns raised by petitioners over the timing and process of the electoral roll revision, the Court urged the ECI <\/span><b>to consider Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards for verification purposes<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and scheduled a detailed hearing for July 28.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Background &#8211; Electoral Roll Revision in Bihar<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Special Intensive Revision (SIR):<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> SIR involves a de novo\/ afresh preparation of electoral rolls through house-to-house verification by electoral registration officers.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Applicability in Bihar:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Those listed on the 2003 electoral rolls<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> need only submit an extract from that roll.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Those enrolled after 2003<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> must submit one or more of 11 prescribed documents and a pre-filled enumeration form to establish birthplace and date, <\/span><b>indirectly serving as a citizenship determination process.<\/b><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Supreme Court Proceedings and Key Observations<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Major concerns raised:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Timing of revision:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Petitioners argued that the electoral roll revision is timed too close to the <\/span><b>November 2025 Bihar Assembly elections.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Demanded delinking of the revision exercise from the election process.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Document exclusion:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Objection to exclusion of Aadhaar from the accepted list of identity\/citizenship documents.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Concerns of<\/span><b> citizenship screening<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> under the guise of voter verification.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Risk of voter disenfranchisement:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Petitioners warned that lack of accepted documentation <\/span><b>could exclude genuine voters <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">(particularly marginalized groups like EBCs, Dalits, minorities, and women)<\/span><b>.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Bihar government survey reportedly revealed most voters did not possess the required certificates sought by ECI.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Supreme Court\u2019s stand and directions:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>No interim stay<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: Court <\/span><b>allowed <\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ECI to proceed with SIR but<\/span><b> reserved right to intervene<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> if violations are proven.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Document suggestion<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: SC urged ECI to consider Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards\u2014though left the final decision to the Commission.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Rationale for transparency<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: ECI was directed to provide reasons if it chooses to exclude these documents.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Three key legal questions identified by SC:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Powers of the Election Commission under the Constitution.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Procedure and methodology of SIR being adopted.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Timing of the revision vis-\u00e0-vis the upcoming election.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Accessibility of Suggested Documents in Bihar<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Aadhaar card:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Aadhaar is available to over <\/span><b>88<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">% of Bihar\u2019s population (approx. 11.48 crore people).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Saturation level (eligible people with Aadhaar) stands at <\/span><b>94<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">% across the state.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Some districts like Kishanganj and Katihar show saturation above 120%, indicating <\/span><b>coverage exceeding projections<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Adult coverage (18+ years)<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">: 70.29% of total Aadhaar holders.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Voter ID (EPIC card):<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Issued compulsorily to all enrolled electors.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Bihar has 7.89 crore registered voters<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, almost all of whom hold a Voter ID.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Used presently only for identification<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, not for eligibility verification.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Ration cards:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Cover about two-thirds of Bihar\u2019s population.<\/b><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">1.79 crore ration cards cover around 8.71 crore beneficiaries (as of July 10, 2025).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Easily accessible to<\/span><b> low-income and marginalized group<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">s, including EBCs and minorities.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Election Commission\u2019s Position and Defence<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>Key submissions by ECI:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The list of 11 documents is not exhaustive, and room for additions exists.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Aadhaar is not conclusive for citizenship<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, hence not mandatory.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Extensive public outreach ongoing via:<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>Mobile notifications<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to over 7.89 crore electors.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><b>House-to-house verification<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and real-time monitoring via ECINET.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Rebuttal to citizenship allegations:<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">ECI claimed that it has no intent to remove voters arbitrarily.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Exclusion will happen only if required by law and supported by evidence.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2 style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court <\/span><b>has upheld the ECI\u2019s constitutional autonomy<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in revising electoral rolls but emphasized <\/span><b>accountability and transparency<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The July 28 hearing is expected to address the legal validity, procedural fairness, and timing concerns of the SIR process ahead of Bihar\u2019s crucial elections.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400; text-align: justify;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It will also try to balance <\/span><b>documentary rigor with universal suffrage<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, underlining the importance of <\/span><b>institutional accountability and voter inclusion<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> in India\u2019s electoral democracy.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p style=\"text-align: justify;\"><b>Source:<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/india\/sc-bihar-roll-revivison-continue-ec-aadhaar-voter-id-documents-10118072\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">\u00a0| <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/political-pulse\/special-revision-bihar-voter-list-papers-sc-widen-net-panic-10119321\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">IE<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Supreme Court of India declined to stay the Election Commission of India\u2019s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":19,"featured_media":54356,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[1489,1461,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-54383","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-ains-articles","9":"tag-electoral-roll-revision-in-india","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/19"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=54383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/54383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/54356"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=54383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=54383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=54383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}