Electoral Roll

Supreme Court Demands Transparency in Bihar Voter List Deletions

In a significant intervention, the Supreme Court has issued a directive to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publicly disclose a searchable list of over 6.5 million voters removed from Bihar’s draft electoral rolls. This ruling, delivered amidst a batch of petitions challenging the ECI’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, aims to ensure accountability and address widespread concerns over alleged mass disenfranchisement ahead of the upcoming state elections. The court emphasized that no name can be deleted without a formal ‘speaking order’ and due process, including an opportunity for the individual to be heard. [13, 14, 22, 24]