Shared with BLAs list of those who didn't submit forms for SIR draft roll, EC tells Supreme Court

Indian Express

10 hours ago

The Election Commission on Saturday told the Supreme Court that it shared the list of electors whose enumeration forms had not been received during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar with Booth Level Agents (BLAs) of recognised political parties even before publishing the draft roll.
In an additional affidavit filed in the Supreme Court, the poll body also sought to assure that no voters' name will be deleted from the draft roll, published on August 1, without prior notice, hearing and a speaking order.
The EC's affidavit comes after the court on Wednesday asked it to reply to a plea by the Association for Democratic Reforms, one of the petitioners who had challenged the SIR exercise. In its application, the ADR had sought directions to the commission to publish the list of names and other details of the 65 lakh electors removed from the rolls in the draft stage.
The SC is scheduled to hear petitions regarding the SIR next on August 12.
The EC said, '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: (i) issuance of a prior notice to the concerned elector indicating the proposed deletion and the grounds thereof, (ii) affording a reasonable opportunity of being heard and furnishing relevant documents, and (iii) passing of a reasoned and speaking order by the competent authority.' It added that 'these safeguards are further reinforced by a robust two-tier appeal mechanism prescribed under the relevant rules, thereby ensuring that every elector has adequate recourse against any adverse action.
The affidavit said 'the Commission, in an effort to ensure inclusion of every eligible elector whose enumeration forms had not been received, caused the list of such electors be shared with Booth Level Agents of the recognised political parties by 20th July 2025 itself…so that, in cases where such entries required reconsideration, appropriate corrective action could be taken and the names included in the draft roll.'
'Subsequently, upon noting the proactive efforts of the political parties, updated lists were again shared with their representatives for further follow-up,' it said.
The commission pointed out that it had issued a detailed press note dated 27.07.2025, placing in the public domain the progress of the SIR.
'To ensure that no eligible elector in Bihar is left behind, awareness campaigns through SMS, meetings, and repeated BLO visits were conducted, with provision for any BLA to submit up to 50 enumeration forms per day' and 'to ensure that no temporary migrant from Bihar is excluded, advertisements in Hindi were issued in 246 newspapers and the CEOs of all States/UTs, were requested for facilitating filing of forms from outside the state through both online and physical means,' it said.
The poll body pointed out that special urban camps were organised in all 261 urban local bodies and 'to enrol all young electors attaining the qualifying age on or before 1st October 2025', advance applications were being accepted with special campaigns scheduled for the claims and objections period.
The EC said to maintain regular involvement of electors and political parties, it provided booth-level lists to parties during the process.
The commission said 'to promptly address any issues raised during the enumeration phase, including those reported through print, television, or social media, DEOs have taken corrective actions' and 'to facilitate thorough scrutiny of the draft roll from 1st August to 1st September 2025, printed and digital copies of draft rolls have been made available to political parties, and online facility for the public at large'.
'In order to ensure that no eligible elector is excluded, the Commission had deployed about 2.5 lakhs volunteers, most of whom are also officers of the Government of Bihar, to assist electors, including in procuring the requisite documents from various State departments… Accordingly, even in cases where any vulnerable elector does not presently possess any document, he/she would be facilitated in the process of obtaining such documents,' the affidavit said.
The poll body said 'the SIR has yielded substantial progress.'
'…Out of 7.89 crore electors, over 7.24 crore submitted their enumeration forms with the active involvement of the Chief Electoral Officer of Bihar, 38 District Election Officers (DEOs), 243 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), 2,976 Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), 77,895 BLOs, 2,45,716 volunteers and 1,60,813 BLAs…'
The Commission added that it 'has been issuing daily press releases/bulletins to keep the public informed on Claims and Objections received from public or political parties, on which action will be taken by the competent authority, after notice period, as per law'.
Ananthakrishnan G. is a Senior Assistant Editor with The Indian Express. He has been in the field for over 23 years, kicking off his journalism career as a freelancer in the late nineties with bylines in The Hindu. A graduate in law, he practised in the District judiciary in Kerala for about two years before switching to journalism. His first permanent assignment was with The Press Trust of India in Delhi where he was assigned to cover the lower courts and various commissions of inquiry.
He reported from the Delhi High Court and the Supreme Court of India during his first stint with The Indian Express in 2005-2006. Currently, in his second stint with The Indian Express, he reports from the Supreme Court and writes on topics related to law and the administration of justice. Legal reporting is his forte though he has extensive experience in political and community reporting too, having spent a decade as Kerala state correspondent, The Times of India and The Telegraph. He is a stickler for facts and has several impactful stories to his credit. ... Read More