Bihar Assembly Elections: TMC, RJD move to Supreme Court against Eelection Commission's voter list revision
'We are against this (SIR) and filed a case in the Supreme Court,' Moitra told ANI.
She said that the situation would be such that citizens would have to prove their citizenship repeatedly due to these rules, asserting that the next target would be Bengal.
'The main goal of the Election Commission's new amendment rules brought ahead of the Bihar assembly elections is the 2026 Bengal assembly elections... The citizens of India will have to prove their citizenship once again through the rules in this election,' the TMC MP said.
She also flagged the issue that the names of migrant workers would be deleted from the voter list if they failed to submit the correct documents within the prescribed time, which would lead to their disenfranchisement.
'Aadhaar card is not acceptable. Not only the person's birth certificate but also the birth certificates of their mother and father will have to be submitted. Additionally, suppose migrant workers are unable to come and submit the correct documents to the voter list within two to three months. In that case, their names will be removed from the voter list, and they will not be given the opportunity for a final hearing. They will have to apply again and get their names included in the voter list,' Moitra said.
Meanwhile, RJD MP Manoj Jha has also moved the Supreme Court to challenge the Election Commission of India's exercise to revise the voter list across Bihar.
The SIR in Bihar is being implemented smoothly at the ground level with the active cooperation of the electors, the Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Sunday.
'The initial phase of SIR, during which Enumeration forms were to be printed and distributed, is almost complete, with the forms having been made available to all the electors who were available,' read a statement from the poll panel.
ECI also reiterated that SIR is being conducted as per the SIR instructions dated June 24, 2025, and there is no change in the instructions. As per instructions, draft electoral rolls that will be issued on 1 August 2025 will contain the names of persons whose enumeration forms have been received. (ANI)
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Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Now, RJD, Moitra & PUCL move Supreme Court
After the Association for Democratic Reforms, multiple petition filed by different parties, including NGO People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), TMC MP Mahua Moitra and RJD , have approached Supreme Court against Election Commission 's special intensive revision (SIR) of Bihar's electoral rolls and told the court that the exercise is illegal and calculated to disenfranchise the state's mobile migrant population which works across India but returns home to exercise their democratic right to vote. The parties are likely to mention the case before SC on Monday for urgent hearing. Moitra, in her petition, submitted that the impugned order unlawfully shifted the burden of proving eligibility from the State to the individual elector and arbitrarily excludes commonly accepted identity documents such as Aadhaar and ration cards. Shifting of the burden of voter authentication onto the citizens, and to view every citizen with suspicion until proven otherwise, is a breach of the constitutional spirit, and also is in direct contravention of the statutory scheme to which EC is bound, she said. PUCL, which moved SC through advocate Talha Abdul Rahman, submitted that the timing of the decision appears "deliberately to disenfranchise Bihar's mobile workforce during crucial electoral periods".
The Print
2 hours ago
- The Print
‘Arbitrary, to be replicated in Bengal.' What pleas by ADR, Mahua challenging EC's Bihar exercise say
While Moitra argued this was a violation of the right(s) to equality, freedom of speech and expression and life, Yadav also termed the decision 'manifestly arbitrary, unreasonable and violative of electoral laws'. The origins of this case lie in a June 24 decision of the ECI, which directed the state election commission to conduct a special intensive revision of the electoral polls in Bihar. New Delhi: Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra and Bharat Jodo Abhiyan national convener Yogendra Yadav, among others, have moved the Supreme Court against the Election Commission of India's (ECI) decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar, saying that a similar second revision of the voters list can be replicated in the state of West Bengal, in a similar fashion. 'It is submitted that it is for the very first time in the country that such an exercise is being conducted by the ECI, where electors whose names are already there in electoral rolls and who have already voted multiple times in are being asked to prove their eligibility,' Moitra's petition contended. Apart from this, similar petitions have been filed by non-profit organisations Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MP Manoj Jha has also filed a similar petition before the top court. ADR's petition, which has been filed through advocate Prashant Bhushan, also mentions alleged lack of due process and an 'unreasonably short timeline' for the revision exercise to take place, while adding that it could result in the removal of lakhs of genuine voters from electoral rolls leading to their disenfranchisement. 'ECI has issued unreasonable and impractical timeline to conduct SIR in Bihar with close proximity to state elections which are due in November 2025. There are lakhs of citizens who do not possess the documents as required under the SIR order, there are many who may be able to procure the documents but the short timeline mentioned in the directive may preclude them from being able to supply the same within the time period,' it argued. Also Read: 'Worst attack' on Constitution, says Oppn after meeting EC over voter verification drive in Bihar Mahua Moitra's petition In her petition, Moitra also argued that the ECI's move violated provisions of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and Articles 325 and 326 of the Constitution which state that no one can be ineligible for inclusion in a special electoral roll on grounds of religion, race, caste or sex, and mandate universal adult franchise for all. By way of her petition filed through advocate Neha Rathi, Moitra said she has information that the '(SIR) exercise is stated to be replicated in West Bengal from August 2025 for which instructions have already been given'. Saying that such a revision of electoral rolls is a direct threat to democratic rights, Moitra's petition argued that the electoral body was acting at the behest of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), and was attempting to disenfranchise millions of voters, especially migrants and the economically disadvantaged. If not set aside, the order can lead to large-scale disenfranchisement of eligible voters in the country and undermining of democracy and free and fair elections in the country, Moitra said while adding that the ECI must be restrained from issuing similar orders in other states too. Yogendra Yadav's petition By way of his PIL, Yadav challenged the ECI's special exercise in Bihar, saying it violated Section 22 of the RP Act, and Rule 21-A of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, since both laws require procedural safeguards before deletion of names. Section 22 of the 1950 Act, outlines the process for correcting, transposing, or deleting entries in electoral rolls. It states that the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) is allowed to make changes to electoral rolls, either on an application or on their own motion, after an inquiry. However, such changes can be made only if an entry is erroneous, or there is a change of residence within the constituency, or requires deletion in case of someone's death. On the other hand, Rule 21-A talks about the process of including names which have inadvertently or erroneously been omitted due to some The ECI order ECI's June 26 order directing that an SIR be conducted requires the inclusion or retention of a voter's name in the electoral roll upon producing citizenship documents, like citizenship proof from either or both parents. If a voter cannot furnish this, they run the risk of exclusion. Moitra said this violates Article 326, which grants universal adult franchise to all persons, and introduces extraneous requirements which are not originally envisaged under the RP Act, 1950. The order arbitrarily excludes commonly accepted identity documents such as Aadhaar and ration cards from the list of accepted documents, which puts a 'huge burden' on the voters who are at a risk of getting disenfranchised, the petition said. It also pointed to current field reports from the state of Bihar that confirm that lakhs of residents across rural and marginalised areas in Bihar are at an imminent risk of disenfranchisement due to these stringent and unreasonable requirements. (Edited by Amrtansh Arora) Also Read: ECI's voter verification drive in Bihar is tailor-made to keep Dalits, Muslims, EBCs out
The Hindu
3 hours ago
- The Hindu
Chief Election Commissioner defends SIR in Bihar, ECI says no change in instructions
Defending the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls under way in Bihar, Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar on Sunday (July 7, 2025) said that the Election Commission of India (ECI) had held extensive consultations with all political parties and 'no one was satisfied with the current status of electoral rolls for one reason or other'. The ECI too clarified that the SIR was being conducted as per its June 24 order announcing the exercise and there was 'no change in the instructions'. The clarification was issued following front-page advertisements in newspapers in Patna by the Bihar Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), stating people can submit their filled enumeration forms now and provide the documents later. Issued in Hindi, the advertisement said, 'If you do not have requisite documents, then provide the enumeration forms to the Booth Level Officers.' This prompted statements from Opposition leaders, including Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, that the ECI had backtracked under pressure from them. Mr. Kharge had posted on X: 'When people rise, BJP backtracks'. He further claimed that 'the master plan that the BJP had devised to deprive crores of people in Bihar of their voting rights seems to be ensnaring the BJP itself'. He also credited 'pressure from the Opposition, the public and civil society' for the ECI issuing the advertisement, which he said stated that 'only the form needs to be filled and documents were not necessary'. 'This is part of the BJP's tactic to mislead and confuse the public. The truth is that the BJP has decided it will crush democracy at all costs. But when faced with public opposition, it cleverly takes a step back,' Mr. Kharge said. However, CEO Vinod Singh Gunjiyal clarified, 'SIR in Bihar is progressing as per EC's order dated 24 June 2025... All measures are being taken to facilitate the existing electors to complete the documentation. These existing voters will have time to submit the documents even after first submitting their Enumeration Forms. All activities are exactly as per EC's order dated 24.06.2025.' Further clarification was also issued stating there was 'no change in the instructions'. The panel said while the voters were required to 'submit their documents anytime before July 25', those who failed to do so would get an opportunity 'during the claims and objections period also'. The ECI in its statement further cautioned voters against statements being made by few persons 'who without reading the SIR order dated 24 June' were orchestrating and attempting to confuse the public with their 'incorrect and misleading' statements. Mr. Kumar too issued a short statement without naming any political party. 'During the past four months, all 4,123 EROs [Electoral Registration Officers], all 775 DEOs [District Election Officers] and all 36 CEOs have held nearly 5,000 meetings with 28,000 political party representatives. The EC has also invited all recognised political parties for interaction. No one was satisfied with the current status of electoral rolls for one reason or the other'. Meanwhile, the Opposition parties continued to point out various infirmities with the process. Communist Party of India (Marxist–Leninist) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya pointed out that 'only 14% filled forms have been returned after 10 days, and the EC knows that a huge number of voters will be eliminated at the draft stage itself'. Senior Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader and Rajya Sabha member Manoj K. Jha told The Hindu that the ECI had only tried to make its own work easier by asking voters to fill the enumeration form even if they don't have the documents. 'This is an admission that the documents they are asking for are not easily available with the majority of the population. They are on the back foot. And this does not address the real problem,' Mr. Jha said. On Friday (July 4, 2025), a delegation of Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) leaders headed by RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav met Mr. Gunjiyal to raise their objections to the SIR. They demanded that Aadhaar card, ration card and MGNREGA card be added to the list of admissible documents under SIR. As per data, till 7 p.m. on Saturday (July 5, 2025), 1,12,01,674 enumeration forms have been collected in Bihar, which is 14.18% of the total number of potential voters. In addition, the total number of counting forms uploaded was 23,90,329, of which 23,14,602 forms were uploaded through BLOs, while 75,789 forms were uploaded by general voters through online mode.
