3.7 lakh Electors Declared 'Ineligible' in Bihar | 01 Oct 2025

Why in News?

The final Bihar voter list published on 30th September 2025 has 7.42 crore voters, about 6% less than the 7.89 crore recorded on 24th June 2025, when the Election Commission of India announced a three-month Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state.

Key Points

  • Deletions and Additions: 65 lakh names were deleted from the draft roll, with major categories being death, migration, and duplication.
    • 3.66 lakh additional names were removed in the final stage after claims and objections.
    • There was a negligible number of non-citizens or foreigners removed.
    • 21.53 lakh new voters were added to the final list.
    • The number of electors increased by 17.9 lakh compared to the draft roll (7.2 crore) published on 1st August 2025.
  • Gender Representation: The percentage of women electors decreased slightly from 47.75% in January to 47.15% after the completion of SIR.
  • Legal Aspects:
    • Supreme Court Judgement: The Court ruled that Aadhaar would be included as the 12th document for proof of identity, thus raising the bar for exclusions.
    • Appeal Process: Voters dissatisfied with deletions can appeal to the District Magistrate and the Chief Electoral Officer.

Special Intensive Revision of Electoral Rolls

  • Electoral Rolls: An Electoral Roll (also known as a Voter List or Electoral Register) is the official list of all eligible and registered voters within a specific constituency. 
    • It is used to verify voter identities and ensure a fair and transparent electoral process during elections.
    • The Electoral Rolls are prepared by the ECI under the Representation of the People Act (RP Act), 1950.
    • It excludes non-citizens (Section 16) and includes citizens aged 18 or above who are ordinarily resident in the constituency (Section 19).
  • Special Intensive Revision: SIR is a focused, time-bound house-to-house voters’ verification process conducted by Booth Level Officers (BLOs) to update and correct the electoral rolls before major elections. 
    • It ensures that the voter list is accurate, inclusive, and free from discrepancies by allowing new registrations, deletions, and modifications.
    • Section 21 of the RP Act, 1950 empowers the ECI to prepare and revise electoral rolls, including conducting a special revision at any time with recorded reasons.
  • Constitutional Basis of SIR: Article 324 vests the ECI with the power to supervise and control the preparation of electoral rolls and conduct of elections.
    • Article 326 guarantees universal adult suffrage, allowing citizens aged 18 and above to vote, unless disqualified by law due to criminal conviction, unsound mind, or corruption.
    • Article 327 deals with the power of Parliament to make provision with respect to elections to Legislatures.
    • Article 328 deals with power of the Legislature of a State to make provision with respect to elections to such Legislature.
  • Judicial Stand: The Supreme Court in the Mohinder Singh Gill v. The Chief Election Commissioner Case, 1977 upheld the ECI’s broad powers under Article 324 to ensure free and fair elections, including ordering re-polls if needed, and emphasized that judicial review is restricted during elections as per Article 329(b).
    • It clarified that ECI can act independently if laws under Articles 327 and 328 are silent on any aspect.
    • It also noted that while natural justice is important, the ECI can take swift and practical decisions in exceptional situations. 
  • Previous Electoral Roll Revision: SIRs were conducted in 1952–56, 1957, 1961, 1965, 1966, 1983–84, 1987–89, 1992, 1993, 1995, 2002, 2003, and 2004 in various parts of the country. In Bihar, the last SIR was held in 2003.