No Law To Publish List Of Voters Excluded From Bihar Draft Rolls: EC Tells SC, Assures No Deletions Without Notice
The Election Commission assured the Supreme Court that no voter's name will be deleted from Bihar's draft electoral rolls without prior notice and a hearing. The EC clarified it's not legally obligated to provide a separate list of excluded voters or reasons for non-inclusion.
The Election Commission has told the Supreme Court that no voter’s name will be deleted from Bihar’s draft electoral rolls without issuance of prior notice. The poll body also said that it is under no legal obligation to prepare or share any separate list of names of people not included in the draft electoral rolls, or to publish the reasons for non-inclusion.
The EC filed its latest affidavit on the controversial Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the apex court on Saturday. The development came days after the much-awaited draft eletoral rolls in Bihar, enlisting 7.24 crore voters but removing 65 lakh names, were made public. The poll body claimed most of the persons whose names were knocked off the rolls had either died or migrated.
A bench headed by Justice Surya Kant is hearing the pleas against the EC's Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar.
In its latest affidavit, the Commission clarified that under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, its obligation is limited to publishing the draft electoral roll and allowing claims and objections and that there is no requirement to issue a separate deletion list.
EC Responds To Petition Seeking Detailed List Of Excluded Electors
Separately, the EC responded to a petitioner’s application seeking a directive for the poll panel to release a complete and final list including assembly constituency and part/booth-wise of around 65 lakh electors whose enumeration forms were not submitted, along with the reasons for their non-submission.
In its additional affidavit, the poll body stated that the first stage of SIR was completed, and the draft electoral roll was officially published on August 1.
"It is further submitted that, as a matter of policy and in strict adherence to the principles of natural justice, no deletion of any elector's name from the draft electoral roll, published on August 1, 2025, shall be undertaken without: (i) issuance of a prior notice to the concerned elector indicating the proposed deletion and the grounds thereof, (ii) affording a reasonable opportunity of being heard and furnishing relevant documents, and (iii) passing of a reasoned and speaking order by the competent authority," it said.
It added that these safeguards are strengthened by a robust two-tier appeal system outlined in the relevant rules, ensuring every elector has sufficient recourse against any adverse action.
Strict Instructions Against Deletions Without Due Process
The EC said that in order to prevent any wrongful deletion from the draft rolls, it had issued strict instructions prohibiting removals without prior notice and a speaking order by the competent authority, with provision for appeals under section 24 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
The poll panel assured that it is taking every step to ensure that no eligible elector's name is excluded from the electoral roll.
"It is submitted that the statutory framework does not require the respondent (EC) to prepare or share any separate list of names of people not included in the draft electoral rolls, or publish the reasons for non-inclusion of anyone in the draft electoral rolls for any reason," the poll panel said in its separate reply.
"As neither the law nor guidelines provide for preparation or sharing of any such list of previous electors whose enumeration form is not received for any reason during the enumeration phase, no such list can be sought by the petition as a matter of right," it said.
The poll panel further clarified that exclusion of an individual's name from draft electoral roll does not mean deletion from electoral rolls.
It said draft roll simply showed that duly filled enumeration form of existing electors has been received during enumeration phase. It said the draft roll merely indicated whether the duly filled enumeration form of existing electors had been received during the enumeration phase.
"But, on account of human involvement in execution of this exercise of scale, there is always a possibility that an exclusion or inclusion might surface due to inadvertence or error," it said.
Political Parties Informed About Missing Enumeration Forms
The EC stated that before publishing the draft electoral roll, it had instructed the CEO and other officials to provide political parties with the booth-level list of individuals whose enumeration forms had not been received for any reason and to seek their help in reaching out to those voters.
It alleged that the petitioner's actions were in line with previous efforts to malign the EC by promoting false narratives through digital, print, and social media.
"Such attempts should be appropriately dealt with by this court, and heavy costs should be imposed for petitioner's attempts to deliberately mislead this court," it said.
The poll panel acknowledged that following the publication of the draft rolls, political parties were provided with an updated list of electors excluded from the draft, ensuring every effort was made to contact them.
"The political parties have acknowledged receipt of the said list," it said.
The EC said, "In yet another attempt to mislead this court, the petitioners emphatically assert that a person whose name has been excluded from the draft roll has no recourse to a remedy as he/she cannot file a claim or objection".
Referring to the comprehensive guidelines in the June 24 SIR order, the poll panel stated that it explicitly allows for the inclusion of individuals whose enumeration forms were not submitted within the designated timeframe.
On August 6, the Supreme Court directed the EC to provide details by August 9 concerning approximately 65 lakh electors omitted from the draft electoral rolls.
the NGO 'Association For Democratic Reforms', which has challenged the EC's June 24 order mandating the SIR of Bihar’s electoral rolls, has filed a new application requesting the publication of the names of the roughly 65 lakh deleted voters, specifying whether they are deceased, permanently migrated, or excluded for other reasons.
(With inputs from news agency PTI.)
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