- No eligible voter in Bihar will be removed from electoral rolls without prior notice, poll body said
- It told the top court that "strict directions" have been issued to prevent any wrongful deletions
- It also said that every voter would be given an "affordable reasonable opportunity of being heard
No eligible voter in Bihar will be removed from the electoral rolls without prior notice, the Election Commission (EC) told the Supreme Court on Saturday.
It also said that all possible steps are being taken to include all eligible voters in the final electoral list during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and "strict directions" have been issued to prevent any wrongful deletions.
The poll body made the assurance in an affidavit filed on Saturday, days after the top court sought its response to allegations that over 6.5 million names were deleted from Bihar's draft electoral rolls without transparency during the SIR exercise. The exercise has caused much controversy as it was ordered on June 24, just a few months before the assembly elections.
"As a matter of policy and in strict adherence to the principles of natural justice, no deletion of any elector's name from the draft electoral roll, published on 1st August 2025, shall be undertaken without issuance of a prior notice to the elector indicating the proposed deletion and the grounds thereof...," the commission said.
It also said that every voter would be given an "affordable reasonable opportunity of being heard and furnishing relevant documents" and a "reasoned order", as it listed a series of measures involving booth-level visits, participation of political parties, awareness campaigns and assistance for vulnerable groups adopted for the drive.
The poll body said the first stage of the electoral revision - which involved house to house visits by booth-level workers - has been completed and that the draft electoral roll was made public on August 1. Out of 7.89 crore voters, over 7.24 crore submitted their enumeration forms, it said.
The list of missing voters was provided to political parties from time to time so that the names could be added on time, it added.
It also highlighted the participation of the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar, 38 District Election Officers, 243 Election Registration Officers, 2,976 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers, 77,895 Booth Level Officers, 2,45,716 volunteers and 1,60,813 Booth Level Agents appointed by all major political parties.
In a bid to ensure that no temporary migrant from Bihar is excluded, advertisements in Hindi were issued in 246 newspapers across the country and online and physical forms were also provided, the commission said.
On July 29, the Supreme Court said the Election Commission was a constitutional authority deemed to act in accordance with law, and said it will step in immediately if there was "mass exclusion" in the electoral roll exercise.
It also directed the poll body to file a reply by August 9 on NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR)'s allegations that over 65 lakh names were deleted from Bihar's draft electoral rolls without transparency. The NGO has sought direction to the poll panel to publish the names of the deleted voters with the mention whether they are dead, permanently migrated or not considered for any other reason.
On August 1, the poll body came out with the much-anticipated draft electoral rolls, enlisting 7.24 crore voters but knocking off more than 65 lakh names, claiming that most of the persons concerned had died or migrated.
The draft electoral rolls are available for voters online.
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