Several voters complained of opaque and haphazard implementation of the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar during a daylong “public hearing” organised by civil society groups in Patna, which was streamed online.

Phool Kumari Devi from Katihar said: “I had to walk 4km to click my photo (in a studio) to give to the booth-level officer (BLO). I did not have money, so I sold the rice I had received as ration. To get the required documents, I had to skip work for two days and could not buy food to eat.”

Sumitra Devi, 60, from Saharsa said she was told to furnish her caste and birth certificates. “Where will I get all this? They asked for my parents’ documents as well. Both of them died when I was a child,” she said.

She said only three of the 10 members of her house received enumeration forms from the BLO, raising a question mark on what would happen to the rest.

Under the SIR, which began last month, all electors need to attest and submit pre-filled enumeration forms before July 25 to make it to the draft roll. Under the SIR’s regulations, those born before 1987 need to submit proof of “date and/or place of birth” only for themselves and not their parents. Also, one’s name in the 2003 rolls is considered valid proof.

Yet Sumitra Devi, who has voted in several elections, said she had been asked for additional proof. “A caste certificate costs ₹300, and you need a mobile phone to apply,” she pointed out.

Mohammed Iftar, a construction labourer from Katihar, said: “The school master (a BLO on deputation) charged me ₹100 for filling up the form.”

After it was reported that many voters were unable to submit any of the 11 documents listed by the Election Commission (EC), Bihar’s chief electoral officer had issued a public notice stating that such voters can submit the forms first and the documents next month.

The voters revealed that the BLOs were taking the forms, but they were neither collecting the supporting documents nor giving any receipts. “The BLO only asked for my Aadhaar and phone number and made me sign the form. He only took the forms of those present in the village that day,” Munni Devi from Araria district said.

Aadhaar is not being accepted as documentary proof, although the EC has given voters the option to provide their Aadhaar details.

Experts cautioned against the arbitrary nature of the process. “The danger is that if forms that do not comply with the regulations are accepted, then the discretionary powers of the EC increase tremendously. They can accept or reject the forms at will,” D.M. Diwakar, former director of Patna’s AN Sinha Institute of Social Studies, said.

Former Patna High Court judge Anjana Prakash said: “As of today, the EC suspects every man of not being a citizen. The idea that you can vote only after the EC makes sure that you are a citizen is wrong. Voting is our right, and the EC can’t stop us from voting.”