The Association for Democratic Reforms on Saturday filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the Election Commission conducting a special intensive revision of Bihar’s electoral rolls, saying that the order is arbitrary and can disenfranchise millions of voters, Live Law reported.

The non-profit organisation sought the quashing of the order, arguing that it violated Articles 14, 19, 21, 325 and 326 of the Constitution and also contravened provisions of the Representation of the People Act and Rule 21A of the Registration of Electors Rules.

Article 14 of the Constitution guarantees equality before the law, while Article 19 pertains to freedom of speech and expression and Article 21 to protection of life and personal liberty.

Article 325 ensures that there is no discrimination based on religion, race, caste or sex in electoral rolls and Article 326 mandates elections to be based on adult suffrage. Rule 21A of the Registration of Electors Rules pertains to the inclusion of names inadvertently omitted.

The special intensive revision of the electoral rolls in Bihar was announced by the Election Commission on June 24, ahead of the Assembly elections expected to be held in the state in October or November.

As part of the exercise, persons whose names were not on the 2003 voter list will need to submit proof of eligibility to vote. This means that 2.9 crore out of the state’s 7.8 crore voters – or about 37% of the electors – will have to submit documentary evidence.

Voters born before July 1, 1987, must show proof of their date and place of birth, while those born between July 1, 1987, and December 2, 2004, must also submit documents establishing the date and place of birth of one of their parents. Those born after December 2, 2004, will need proof of date of birth for themselves and both parents.

In its petition, the Association for Democratic Reforms said that revision could “arbitrarily and without due process disenfranchise lakhs of voters from electing their representatives, thereby disrupting free and fair elections and democracy in the country”, The Hindu reported.

The petition said that the order imposed fresh documentation requirements and shifted the burden of proof from the state to the citizen, Bar and Bench reported.

Citing concerns over the exclusion of widely held documents such as Aadhaar and ration cards in the exercise, the election watchdog said that this would disproportionately affect the poor and marginalised voters, especially in rural parts of Bihar.

“The documentation requirements of the directive, lack of due process as well as the unreasonably short timeline for the said special intensive revision of electoral roll in Bihar further make this exercise bound to result in removal of names of lakhs of genuine voters from electoral rolls leading to their disenfranchisement,” Bar and Bench quoted the petition as saying.

Birth registration levels were historically low in Bihar and many voters did not have access to official documents, the petition said. It added that more than three crore voters in the state may not be able to meet the mandated criteria and could end up being removed from the electoral rolls.

The Association for Democratic Reforms also noted that the Election Commission had not provided a reason for ordering the revision, Bar and Bench reported.

Citing that Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act permitted special revisions only for recorded reasons, the non-profit organisation claimed that the order issued by the poll panel lacked such justification.

Stating that a special summary revision had been conducted in Bihar from October 2024 to January 2025, the petition said that no reports of serious irregularities had been flagged. A fresh exercise ahead of the Assembly polls raised concerns about its intent and implementation, it added.

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