New Delhi: The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, made it clear that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a prerogative of the Election Commission of India (ECI) and posted the case for hearing on Thursday.
The ECI told the bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that none of those whose names have been deleted from the voter list in Bihar after SIR has approached the court or filed an appeal and only politicians and NGOs sitting in Delhi are raising the issue. The poll body also informed the Supreme Court that the final electoral list in Bihar has been notified. Most of the names added to the final list are of new voters and a few old voters, the ECI said.
During the hearing, senior advocate Prashant Bhushan said that the final voter list, which has over 21 lakh new inclusions and 3.66 lakh exclusions, must be compared with the original voter list of January 2025 – which was made before SIR was conducted in Bihar. “The ECI can do this in the click of a button,” he said.
“For whom all are the petitioners doing this? There are aliens who will not come out against their exclusion from the voter list. They will not approach the court. So for whom are you doing this, Mr. Bhushan?” Justice Kant wanted to know.
When asked where the aggrieved people are, Bhushan claimed that there has been mass exclusion and he can produce as many people as the Court desires.
Justice Kant further then said: “Affidavits by petitioners should show specific cases, this cannot be a roving enquiry. The draft voter list is available in the ECI website, the final voter list is also available. You could compare and identify the excluded names.”
During the last hearing on September 15, 2025, the Supreme Court said it was presuming that the Election Commission, being a constitutional authority, was following the law during the SIR of the electoral roll. The SC had also cautioned that in case of any illegality, the exercise would be set aside.
