The Supreme Court on Tuesday stated that the Election Commission (EC), as a constitutional body, is expected to act within the framework of law, but asserted it would intervene if there is mass exclusion of voters during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi scheduled hearings on August 12 and 13 for a series of petitions challenging the EC’s ongoing SIR process. The court also established a timeline for written submissions to be filed by August 8.

Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate Kapil Sibal and advocate Prashant Bhushan reiterated concerns that many eligible voters were being omitted from the draft electoral list set to be published on August 1.

Bhushan pointed out that the EC had disclosed that “65 lakh persons have not submitted the enumeration forms during the SIR process as they are either dead or have permanently shifted elsewhere.” He noted that those individuals would now be required to apply afresh for inclusion.

Justice Surya Kant responded, “The Election Commission of India, being a Constitutional authority, is deemed to act in accordance with the law. If any wrongdoing is done, you bring \[it] to the notice of the court. We will hear you.”

Justice Bagchi added, “Your apprehension is that 65 lakh-odd voters will not feature in the draft list. Now ECI is seeking correction in the electoral roll. We are overviewing the process as a judicial authority. If there is mass exclusion, we will immediately step in. You bring 15 people whom they say are dead and are alive.”

Representing RJD MP Manoj Jha, Sibal argued that the EC knows the identities of these 65 lakh individuals and could include their names in the draft to prevent confusion. “If the draft list is conspicuously silent, you will bring to our notice,” Justice Kant told him.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the EC, emphasised that enumeration forms could still be submitted after the draft list is published.

On Monday, the apex court declined to stay publication of the draft electoral rolls in Bihar, stressing the “presumption of genuineness” associated with Aadhaar and voter ID documents. It instructed the EC to continue accepting both forms of ID for the SIR exercise, consistent with prior court orders.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms, had urged the court to halt finalisation of the electoral rolls, pressing for a stay on the August 1 publication. However, the court cited an earlier order where petitioners did not seek interim relief and reiterated its intent to conclusively decide the matter.

On July 10, a bench led by Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia had directed the EC to consider Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards as valid documents for the SIR process.

Responding to the use of documents, Dwivedi explained that Aadhaar alone was not a proof of citizenship, and voter ID cards were not fully relied upon given the nature of the revision. Justice Kant remarked, “Any document on earth can be forged. The Election Commission can deal with cases of forgery on a case-to-case basis. Instead of en masse exclusion, it must be en masse inclusion.” Dwivedi responded that both Aadhaar and voter IDs were being accepted with supporting documents.

In its affidavit, the EC defended the SIR, claiming the process helps maintain the integrity of electoral rolls by “weeding out ineligible persons”.

Opposition protests in Parliament

Meanwhile, several MPs from the INDIA bloc staged a protest in the Parliament House complex against the EC’s voter roll revision in Bihar, demanding its withdrawal. Lawmakers from the Congress, DMK, TMC, RJD, and Left parties gathered at the Makar Dwar entrance, shouting slogans such as “vote ki chori bandh karo (stop vote theft)” and “SIR wapas lo (rollback SIR).”

Opposition MPs carried placards with messages like “Stop vote loot” and accused the EC of collusion with the government.

Trinamool Congress leaders including Derek O'Brien, Saket Gokhale, Ritabrata Banerjee, and Mahua Moitra, joined by CPI(ML) MP Sudama Prasad, led protests specifically targeting the SIR exercise.

In a post on X, the TMC wrote:“The message from Parliament is loud and clear: Stop vote loot!”

“Joined by INDIA bloc MPs, our MPs staged a fierce protest against ECI's Special Intensive Revision drive in Bihar.”

The party alleged, “SIR is BJP's two-faced weapon to arbitrarily delete genuine voters to give themselves an unfair electoral advantage, and conduct backdoor NRC using voter verification as a cover for a de facto citizenship test. BJP's obsession with voter suppression and identity-based exclusion knows no bound.”

“We will resist this subversion of democracy inside Parliament and out on the streets,” it added.

The Opposition has consistently criticised the SIR, describing it as an exclusionary process ahead of the Bihar Assembly elections. They have demanded a full parliamentary debate on what they call “votebandi”, claiming it threatens the voting rights of many.

The Monsoon Session has already witnessed near-total disruption in both Houses due to ongoing protests over the issue.

With inputs from agencies