Bihar Voter List Revision
The Supreme Court has refused to stop the ongoing revision process of the voter list in Bihar. Because the Election Commission has the constitutional right to do so. Also, the Supreme Court has asked to consider Aadhaar card, ration card and voter ID card as valid documents for re-verification of voters' identity. The court says that including these three will be in the interest of justice. This comment of the court came after hearing 10 petitions on the special intensive revision of Bihar voter list, in which this process has been criticized as arbitrary and discriminatory because only voters registered after 2003 have been forced to re-verify and to do so they will not have to use government identity cards like Aadhaar card, voter photo identity card. The Supreme Court has also asked some questions to the Election Commission. Explain the right of the panel to conduct 'special intensive revision', explain the validity of the review process, and tell the time of this exercise, i.e. just before the elections. The EC was also asked why it has linked the process to the 2025 Bihar elections, another major question raised by the petitioners, who said the voter list cannot be amended months before polling.
These questions are expected to be answered when the court reconvenes on July 28. Earlier today, the court indicated that the problem was not related to the revision of the voter list, but to the timing, and said it had “serious doubts” over the EC’s ability to complete the task – without excluding genuine voters and without giving individuals the right to appeal – by the time of the election. “The problem is not in your process, the problem is in the timing. We have serious doubts whether you will be able to go through this process,” the court asked. On the EC saying that Aadhaar is not technically a certificate of citizenship, the court said that the issue of citizenship is that of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
During the 78 years of independence, the voter lists have been revised many times. Objections have also been raised. The Supreme Court had ruled in 1995 that the Commission cannot decide anyone's citizenship. The person has to prove himself that he is a citizen of India. The Election Commission has to decide on the basis of certain documents whether a person is an eligible voter or not. The question is that the entire exercise of the Election Commission was full of doubts and contradictions, due to which the opposition parties raised questions and the matter reached the apex court. Instead, the Election Commission should adopt a more practical and empowering approach by accepting more ubiquitous identity documents like Aadhaar, ration card and MNREGA job card. The ubiquity of Aadhaar and its mandatory for many government services makes it an ideal proof of identity.
Similarly, ration cards and MNREGA job cards are widely prevalent, especially among the farming population, as they are at the heart of India's welfare initiatives. Bihar’s historical challenges in birth registration, school enrolment and comprehensive documentation mean that a large number of genuine voters may not have any of these 11 symbolic documents. The responsibility to facilitate their participation rests with the state and its institutions, including the Election Commission. The current stringent documentary requirements place unnecessary burdens on voters, particularly the marginalised and disadvantaged, who already face enormous barriers to engaging with bureaucracy, and risk widespread disenfranchisement. Bihar’s current system appears to treat every voter as a potential non-citizen until proven otherwise.
This question is also before everyone that why was the Aadhar card excluded during this entire process, even though it is considered to be the strongest document of a person's identity. If Bangladeshi or Rohingya infiltrators are making fake Aadhar cards, then the faulty system is responsible for this. Such reports have come to light that in the border areas of Bihar, there are more Aadhar cards than the population. In such a situation, it is also the responsibility of the Election Commission to exclude such people from the voter lists. Now a few days are left for the revision. More than 65 percent of the counting forms have been filled. The Election Commission will have to do intensive verification with honesty and transparency, otherwise the opposition will get an opportunity to question the credibility of the Election Commission and call it a puppet of the ruling party. In democracy, the credibility of the Election Commission should remain intact, otherwise anarchy can arise.