Bihar SIR Case: Supreme Court Tells ECI To Consider 3 IDs, Exercise To Continue

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Thursday asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to consider voter identity card, Aadhaar card, and ration card of people as valid documents for special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.

A bench comprising Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi said, "it would be in the interest of justice". The top court has scheduled the matter for further hearing on July 28. It also asked the poll panel to file its affidavit within a week.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the ECI, in context of Aadhaar as valid document to be included in the exercise, contended that "it is proof of a certain thing that I am I, or you are you, so the authentication of the identity".

Justice Dhulia said the Representation of the People Act, says it has to be taken as a valid document. "First is citizenship. I will have to show a document that here is my house, property, sale deed. The second question is am I the person whom I am claiming to be," said Dwivedi.

"So, each document has a purpose, 60% forms have been filled and approximately 5.5-6 crore forms have already been filled, and half of them have been uploaded”, said Dwivedi.

He added that first time ECI net has been created where all these documents will be uploaded for all times to come and everything will be at one place for the entire country.

Citing the Aadhaar Act, it was argued that Aadhaar number or authentication shall itself not confer any right in proof of citizenship or domicile in respect of Aadhaar.

Justice Dhulia said, "for example, I want a caste and for that I will show my Aadhaar card…on the basis of that I get the caste certificate. Caste certificate is there in one of the eleven documents (required for the SIR exercise) but Aadhaar is not there”.

"One of the basic documents which can become the basis of getting so many documents is not being considered by ECI", said Justice Dhulia. Dwivedi said caste certificate is not entirely the basis of Aadhaar and the list is not exhaustive but for Aadhaar the ECI is injuncted from treating it as evidence of citizenship or domicile.

The bench further queried that after the ECI publishes a draft electoral roll there is a possibility that somebody’s name is not included. Dwivedi said not possible.

"Suppose, I was a voter and after the revision in October 2024 and January 2025, my name was there and when you publish the draft on August 1, will my name be there?", asked Justice Dhulia.

The senior counsel replied that the name will be there and for that a form has to be signed. He added, "we are going house to house and appointed lakhs (of people)”.

The bench said there is a possibility that some names will be missing and pointed out that ECI's argument is that the 2005 roll is not an assurance for names to be included in the current exercise. Dwivedi argued that the last revision of the electoral roll took place in 2003 and presently an intensive revision is required.

Dwivedi, emphasising on the need for an SIR, argued that some petitions say around 1.1 crore persons have died and another 70 lakhs have migrated, and, against this backdrop, this itself makes a case for intensive revision.

The bench questioned the poll body on its focus on citizenship and told its counsel that this matter falls under the domain of the Home Ministry. The bench told the poll body that if it wanted to check citizenship under the SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar then it should have acted early.

The poll body made it clear before the bench that all those whose names had been removed would get a chance to explain, and added that citizenship is required to be checked for being a voter under Article 326 of the Constitution.

The EC’s counsel said that a wrong perception is being created that it is working with a premeditated mindset. The top court also asked the petitioners to refrain from calling the exercise "artificial" or "imaginary”, as there is logic behind the exercise and the petitioners can argue against that logic, and made it clear that it does not favour putting on hold the SIR exercise.

The bench said: “Three questions are involved in this case: the very powers of the Election Commission to undertake the exercise, the procedure and manner in which the exercise is being undertaken, and the timing of the preparation of the draft electoral rolls, asking objection and making final electoral roll etc., which is very short considering the fact that Bihar elections are due in November 2025".

The bench noted that the question is of right to vote and the petitioners have vehemently argued against the SIR exercise.

"We are also of a considered view that the matter needs hearing and let it be fixed before the appropriate court on July 28….after going through necessary documents and Rakesh Dwivedi pointed out that the list of documents which have to be considered by Election Commission for verification of a voter includes 11 documents…therefore in our view since the list is not exhaustive, in our opinion it would be interest of justice if the EC also considers following three documents: Aadhaar card, elector photo identity card, which is issued by EC, and the ration card. As this itself will satisfy the most of the petitioners”, it said.

The bench made it clear to the EC counsel that if they have good reasons to discard the above documents then the poll body can. The bench noted that the petitioners are not pressing for an interim stay at this stage, as in any case the draft electoral roll has to be published on August 1, 2025, and the matter is listed before the court in the last week of July.

Earlier, he top court had agreed to hear challenges on July 10, by Congress and other opposition parties, including Congress and TMC’s MP Mahua Moitra, to the ECI's decision for SIR of electoral rolls in Bihar.