The Supreme Court on Tuesday (August 12, 2025) said that the inclusion of or excluding citizens or non-citizens in the voter list is under the jurisdiction of the Election Commission and the court also supported its stance as a decisive evidence of citizenship in the special intensive revision (SIR) of the voter list in Bihar.
Amid the growing uproar on the SIR inside and outside Parliament, the Supreme Court also said, “The controversy seems to be a case of lack of confidence in a roughness, as the Election Commission claimed that about 6.5 crore people out of a total of 7.9 crore voters did not need to file any documents, as they or their parents were included in the 2003 voter list. Justice and the 2003 voter list were included. Justice and the SIR of Justice Suryam Murthy and Judhmurti Joymalaya Baghchi were included in the voter list. Starting a hearing on the petitions challenging the Election Commission’s decision, made this comment.
Many opposition parties filed petitions in Supreme Court
After the senior advocate Abhishek Singhvi, appearing on behalf of a petitioner, accused the Election Commission of cutting an estimated name of 5 crore people in the SIR, the bench indicated that if she finds anything suspicious, she could instruct them to include all of them in the voter list. Those who filed petitions include leaders of opposition parties including Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress.
The bench asked sharp questions to the petitioners and said that in unknown to declare a living or dead person alive, any error can be improved inadvertently.
What did the bench of Supreme Court say,
The bench told Singhvi, “The law of giving or snatching citizenship is passed by the Parliament, but it is under the jurisdiction of the Election Commission to include and excluding citizens and non-citizens in the voter list.” The apex court agreed with this decision of the Election Commission that Aadhaar and voter ID card would not be accepted as a decisive proof of citizenship and said other documents should be held in its support.
The bench told Singhvi, “The Election Commission is right to say that Aadhaar cannot be accepted as a decisive evidence of citizenship, it will have to be verified. Section-9 of the Aadhaar Act clearly states this. ”
Advocate accused Election Commission of cutting 5 crore voters’ names
The senior advocate said that between 2003 (the year of final intensive revision in Bihar) and 2025, many people had voted in five to six elections in a period of 22 years, but suddenly two months before the election it was said that the names of these people would not be in the list. Singhvi accused the Election Commission of declaring 5 crore people illegal, saying, “Citizenship of 5 crore people cannot be doubted.” On this, the bench said that if anything suspect is found, it can instruct all those involved in the list of 2025 to include all the people in the voter list.
Singhvi agreed that the Election Commission has the right to include or exclude citizens or non-citizens in the voter list, but he said that the Election Commission cannot determine citizenship. He said, “The aim of the Election Commission is never to become a policeman of citizenship. What is happening here is really to remove the name. The Election Commission cannot become a determinant of citizenship. ”
Sibal argued on the petition of MP Manoj Jha
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing on behalf of RJD leader Manoj Jha, said that despite having Aadhaar, ration cards and voter ID cards, the election officials refused to accept these documents. The bench said, “Is your argument that people who do not have any documents, but they are in Bihar, so they should be considered a voter of the state?” It can be allowed. They have to show or submit some documents. ”
When Sibal said that people are having difficulty finding their parents’ birth certificate and other documents, Justice Suryakant said, “This is a very moving statement that no one has documents in Bihar.” If this happens in Bihar, what will happen in other parts of the country? ”
The bench said, “If out of 7.9 crore voters, 7.24 crore voters have responded to SIR, then it destroys the principle of disappearance of one crore voters or deprived of franchise.”
Objection raised to remove more than 65 lakh voters from the list
Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing on behalf of the Non-Governmental Organization Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), questioned the completion of the process and the figures of 65 million voters who were declared registered in dead or displaced or other constituencies.
Political activist Yogendra Yadav questioned the data given by the Election Commission and said that instead of 7.9 crore voters, the total adult population is 8.18 crore and the SIR process aims to remove voters. Yadav privately spoke to the court. He said, “He (Election Commission) could not find any person whose name has been added and the booth level officials went door-to-door to remove the name.” He described it as a case of completely denied the franchise.
Commission’s lawyer objected to Yogendra Yadav’s claim
Yadav presented three persons in the court, about whom he said that he was declared dead by the Election Commission. On this, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the Election Commission, objected.
Dwivedi objected to such gimmick in the court room and said that if Yadav is so worried, he can help the Election Commission to update the record by including his name. The bench said that if there is an error inadvertently, then it can be improved, because it is only a stage of draft preparation.
Dwivedi said that it is natural to have some errors at some places in such a process and claim that dead persons were always declared dead and alive, can always be corrected, as it is only a draft list.
Final voter list will be published on 30 September
The draft voter list (draft voter list) was published on August 1 and the final voter list is scheduled to be published on 30 September, while the opposition claims that this process will deprive millions of eligible citizens of their franchise. In the affidavit of the Election Commission, the SIR exercise in Bihar has been justified, saying that it increases the purity of elections by removing unqualified persons from the voter list.
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