Bihar Voter Row: Election Commission to Publish Searchable List of 65 Lakh Deleted Names

In a major move to ensure transparency in the controversial revision of Bihar’s electoral rolls, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday agreed to a Supreme Court directive to publish a detailed, searchable list of the 65 lakh voters whose names were deleted during the recent Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The poll body must complete this process by next Tuesday, providing a clear avenue for citizens to verify their status and seek corrections.

Following intense arguments, a Supreme Court bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi ordered the ECI to display the booth-wise list of all omitted voters on the websites of the district election officers. Crucially, the list must be searchable by the Elector’s Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number and must specify the reason for each deletion, such as death, migration, or duplication. The court emphasized the need for wide publicity through newspapers, television, and radio to ensure citizens are aware of the process.

To ensure access for those without internet, the court also mandated that physical copies of the booth-wise lists be displayed at the offices of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and at local Panchayat and block development offices. The court stressed that this transparency was essential. “We do not want citizens’ right to be dependent on political parties,” the bench remarked, highlighting the need for individuals to be able to independently check their electoral status.

In a significant clarification, the court directed that public notices must expressly state that aggrieved persons can submit their claims for reinstatement along with a copy of their Aadhaar card. This directive addresses one of the key concerns raised by petitioners who had argued that not accepting Aadhaar as proof was exclusionary.

This development came just a day after the same court had described the SIR’s expansion of acceptable documents from seven to eleven as “voter-friendly,” even while backing the ECI’s stance that Aadhaar alone is not conclusive proof of citizenship. The case will be heard again on August