The Supreme Court has permitted the Election Commission to proceed with its Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. However, the Court asked the Election Commission that, in the interest of justice, it should also consider accepting key identity documents such as Aadhaar, Ration Card, and Voter ID card during the revision process. While observing that revision of Electoral Rolls by the Election Commission in Bihar is within the mandate of the constitution, the court questioned the timing of SIR. The court asked why the exercise is being connected to Bihar Assembly elections and why it cannot be done for the whole country irrespective of the elections. A bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Joymalya Bagchi has remarked that the poll body should have acted earlier on the matter if it was to check citizenship.

        Noting that the draft revised rolls will be published in August, the Supreme Court listed the matter for further hearing on July 28 before the regular Bench. It asked the Election Commission to file its counter-affidavit within a week and told the petitioners to file their rejoinder affidavit, if any, before July 28.
         The petitioners have raised questions on the Commission’s exclusion of Aadhaar Card from the list of documents in the SIR. The poll body argued that the citizenship needs to be checked for being a voter in India and Aadhaar can not be used as proof of citizenship. On this, the Court remarked that the electoral body should have acted earlier if it was to check citizenship under the exercise. The Apex Court also added that the issue of citizenship is within the domain of the Ministry of Home Affairs. 

        On Monday, the Top Court had agreed to urgently list the batch of pleas against the Commission’s Special Intensive Revision in Bihar. Several petitions have been filed before the court claiming that if the poll body order directing on SIR is not set aside, it can arbitrarily and without due process disenfranchise lakhs of voters from electing their representatives.

The Election Commission is already taking Aadhaar as per page 16 of Special Intensive Revision (SIR). According to the official sources, the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number is already pre-printed on the enumeration forms given.

        The SIR guidelines provide that the existing electors including those who have temporarily migrated can download a pre-filled Enumeration Form from website voters.eci.gov.in. Existing electors, who have temporarily migrated can also print and sign the Enumeration Form and send it before 25th July to their BLO, so that their names are included in the draft Electoral Rolls.