PUCL Approaches Supreme Court Challenging ECI’s Electoral Roll Revision In Bihar
The Folks’s Union for Civil Liberties has filed a writ petition within the Supreme Court docket difficult the transfer of the Election Fee of India (ECI) in directing Particular Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the complete nation, with fast enforcement in Bihar a couple of months forward of the meeting elections.
The petition challenges the validity of the order issued by the ECI on June 24 for conducting the SIR, saying that ECI has “not outlined any legit intention, nor sought to keep away from disproportionate hurt to electors.”
The ECI’s directive requires a Particular Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls in Bihar, as per which voters who don’t determine within the 2003 electoral rolls must submit the required citizenship paperwork to show they’re real residents.
The petitioner said that the Particular Intensive Revision was earlier a five-yearly train, with the intention of updating the data with respect to deaths, migrations, and likewise new additions to the electoral rolls. In 2003- 2004, after digitisation of the rolls, SIRs had been discontinued since they had been thought-about resource-intensive, with out serving any particular function, since with digitisation of rolls, fixed digital revisions and modifications had been already made potential. Abstract revisions had been nonetheless undertaken to streamline and replace the rolls by taking into consideration deaths/ migrations/ duplications. Given the fast digital entry, the necessity for such a resource-intensive and cumbersome SIR is just not made clear.
The petitioner argues that until this order dated 24.06.2025 is quashed, it might arbitrarily and with out due course of disenfranchise lakhs of voters, undermining free and truthful elections and thus placing on the coronary heart of the essential construction of the Structure. The stringent documentation necessities, absence of ample procedural safeguards, and the unreasonably quick timeline for conducting this particular revision in Bihar are more likely to end result within the wrongful deletion of real voters from the rolls, successfully denying them their proper to vote.
“The method undermines democracy’s foundational precept that legit governance derives from the consent of all residents, not simply those that can navigate exclusionary administrative mazes. An unlawful train, additionally swiftly performed to cowl a inhabitants of just about 8Crore is more likely to end in exclusion of voters and thereby defeat democracy utilizing the very instruments of democracy. Conveniently, these disregarded could be referred to as ghost voters or faux voters,” the petition said..
Petitions have additionally been filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms, activist Yogendra Yadav and Lok Sabha MP Mahua Moitra difficult the ECI resolution.
The PUCL petition has been filed by means of AoR Talha Abdul Rahman.
