The Supreme Court has refused to put an interim stay on the ongoing voter list revision in Bihar. Now the matter will be heard on Thursday.
In this case, senior advocates Kapil Sibal, Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Shadab Farasat and Gopal Shankarnarayanan demanded an immediate hearing in the Supreme Court.
Arguing before a bench of Justice Sudhanshu Dhulia and Justice Jaymalya Bagchi, the senior lawyers said, "The decision of the Election Commission is posing a serious threat to the rights of millions of voters, especially women and poor people."
Singhvi said, "There are 8 crore voters and 4 crore have to be counted."
Sibal, who appeared on behalf of RJD, said, "This is an impossible task." Shankarnarayanan said, "They are not accepting Aadhaar card, voter card."
Singhvi said, "The time limit is very short and according to this if you are not able to provide the proof by July 25, you will be out of the list."
The court allowed the plea of senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners, for an urgent hearing in the matter, and said the court will consider the matter on Thursday.
A large number of voters could be deprived of their franchise
Assembly elections are due in Bihar in November. Before that, questions are being raised on the Election Commission’s decision to carry out a special and thorough revision of the electoral rolls. Apart from various political parties, NGOs have been openly protesting citing practical difficulties, including the stipulated time for the revision. They say that this could deprive a large number of voters of their franchise.
Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Mahua Moitra, Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Kumar Jha, NGOs – Association for Democratic Reforms, PUCL and social activist Yogendra Yadav, among others, have filed separate petitions in the apex court challenging the validity of the Election Commission’s June 24, 2025 decision.
The petitioners claimed that the move was in violation of provisions of Articles 14, 19, 21, 325 and 326 of the Constitution as well as Rule 21A of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and Registration of Voters Rules, 1960.
He argued that if this order was not set aside, millions of voters could be arbitrarily and without due process deprived of electing their representatives. This can disrupt free and fair elections and democracy in the country, which are part of the basic structure of the Constitution, he added.