Bihar SIR row: SC asks EC to publish details of 65 lakh deleted voters

The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission to publish details of 65 lakh deleted names from voters’ list and give reasons of their non-inclusion to enhance transparency in Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral roll in poll-bound Bihar.

“The list of 65 lakh (approx) voters, whose names appeared in the Voter List as of 2025 but are not included in the Draft Roll dated August 1, 2025, shall be displayed on the websites of the District Election Officers (district-wise). The information will be booth-wise, but it can be accessed by referring to the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number of each voter, a Bench led by Justice Surya Kant said.

“The list so displayed shall also disclose the reason for non-inclusion in the Draft Roll. The Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Bihar will also get the soft copies of the district-wise lists of the voters who have not been included in the Draft Roll, along with the reasons for their non-inclusion, displayed on its website,” said the Bench, which also included Justice Joymalya Bagchi.

Clarifying that the lists so displayed in all the websites shall be in searchable mode with the EPIC (voter I-Card) number, the Bench posted the matter for August 22.

The order came on petitions challenging the June 24 notification on SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar where assembly elections are to be held in October-November 2025.

“In addition, the booth-wise lists of 65 lakh voters whose names have not been included in the Draft Roll, shall also be displayed on the Notice Board of respective Panchayat Bhavan and offices of the Block Development Officers/Panchayat Officers to enable the general public to have access to the aforesaid voter lists along with the reasons for non-inclusion of their names,” the top court said.

“With a view to informing the people about online availability of the above-mentioned lists on the websites of the District Election Officer and the display of such lists at the Panchayat Bhavans and the offices of the Block Developments/Panchayat Officers, extensive publicity shall be given in the daily newspapers in the vernacular language as well as English newspapers having wide circulation in the state of Bihar.

“In addition, it shall also be broadcast and telecast through radio and on electronic media. If the District Election Officers/Chief Electoral Officer, Bihar, have any official social media accounts, the public notice may also be displayed on those profiles,” the order read.

“In the public notice, it shall also be expressly mentioned that the aggrieved persons may submit their claims along with a copy of their Aadhaar Card. The Election Commission of India shall obtain a compliance report from all the Booth-Level Officers and District Election Officers and place it on record as a collated Status Report,” the top court said.

On August 1, the EC came out with the 'draft electoral rolls' in Bihar, enlisting 7.24 crore voters. The final electoral roll will be out on September 30. Of the total 65 lakh voters removed from the draft electoral rolls, 22.34 lakh were dead and 36.28 lakh had permanently shifted or were absent while 7.01 lakh voters were enrolled at more than one place, the EC said.

The Election Commission claimed that roughly 6.5 crore people of the total 7.9 crore voting population didn't have to file any documents for them or their parents who featured in the 2003 electoral rolls.

However, the petitioners, including the Association for Democratic Reforms, expressed the apprehension that a large number of voters will be disenfranchised.

Earlier, the top court had said the Election Commission has the power to take a call on exclusion of non-citizens from voters’ list and that electoral rolls cannot remain “static" and were bound to be revised.