Big victory for EC as SC says including or excluding citizens from electoral rolls within poll body's remit

In a big victory for the Election Commission, the Supreme Court on Tuesday made it clear that the poll body is empowered to include or exclude a citizen's name in the electoral roll.

The apex court was hearing a batch of petitions challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) order to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar, where elections are impending.

The petitioners told a Bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi the Election Commission does not decide on citizenship, and taking out nearly 65 lakh voters from the draft electoral list published on August 1 without giving any prior opportunity to raise an objection to their inclusion was unlawful.

Nevertheless, the Bench rejected the assertion that most residents of Bihar lack the documents being required by the ECI to verify citizenship in the SIR process.

“This is a case of trust deficiency, that’s all,” Justice Kant remarked during the hearing.

The Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), which is challenging the Election Commission of India’s June 24 directive for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), filed yet another application last week, requesting the poll body to identify the names of around 65 lakh voters removed from the draft list - and the reasons why they were removed.

The ECI replied on Saturday, August 9, 2025, and assured the court that it would not finalize any deletions from Bihar's draft electoral roll, without first issuing a notice with stated reasons for the deletions. The Commission stated, "The process shall be done according to the rules of natural justice, where the affected voters will be aforded a fair amount of time, and opportune ways to present themselves so that their relevant documents may be presented. The final decision/action taken by the concerned authority would be reasoned and speaking."