New Delhi, India – July 28, 2025 – The Supreme Court of India on Monday once again urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to consider including Aadhaar cards and electoral photo identity cards (EPICs or Voter IDs) as admissible documents to prove voter identity during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. Despite the petitioners’ strong objections, a division bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi refused to halt the ECI’s scheduled publication of the draft electoral rolls for Bihar on August 1.
The bench’s directive came during a brief hearing, as Justice Kant had to attend a meeting with the Chief Justice of India in the afternoon. The court asked the petitioners and the ECI to decide on a tentative time for arguments and stated that it would inform them of the next hearing date on Tuesday, July 29.
During the proceedings, Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing one of the petitioners, implored the apex court to stop the draft list’s notification. He argued that the current process would inconvenience approximately 4.5 crore voters, and once the draft list is published, those excluded would face the arduous task of filing objections and seeking inclusion. However, the bench responded by stating that it is merely a “draft list,” and the court retains the power to “ultimately strike down the entire process if any illegality is found.”
Emphasizing the importance of official documents, the bench firmly told the poll panel, “There is a presumption of correctness with official documents, you proceed with these two documents. You will include these two documents (Aadhaar and electoral photo identity card)… Wherever you find forgery, that is on a case-to-case basis. Any document on the earth can be forged…” This reiterates the court’s earlier stance from the last hearing, where it had allowed the ECI to continue with the SIR exercise but had “asked the ECI to consider allowing Aadhaar, ration cards, and Electoral Photo Identity Cards (EPICs) as admissible documents.”
The Supreme Court is hearing a batch of pleas challenging the ECI’s decision to conduct the SIR of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. The ECI, in its defense, has maintained that Aadhaar is not proof of citizenship or domicile. It clarified that while Aadhaar may not be a standalone proof for citizenship, it can be used for identity verification if someone objects to a voter’s eligibility during the claims and objections stage, which commences after the draft roll publication. The ECI’s argument has been that the “conceptual and procedural integrity of a de-novo revision would stand undermined if EPICS, which are merely reflective of prior entries, are used to validate entries in a roll that is required to be freshly prepared.”
The petitions challenging the ECI directive were filed by a diverse group of petitioners, including RJD MP Manoj Jha, the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), activist Yogendra Yadav, Trinamool MP Mahua Moitra, and former Bihar MLA Mujahid Alam.
These petitioners are primarily seeking a direction to quash the ECI’s June 24 directive, which they argue “requires large sections of voters in Bihar to submit proof of citizenship to remain on the electoral rolls.” The ADR, in its petition, has contended that the ECI order “imposes fresh documentation requirements and shifts the burden of proof from the state to the citizen.” They have also raised serious concerns over the exclusion of widely held documents like Aadhaar and ration cards from the primary list of accepted proofs, stating that this would disproportionately affect poor and marginalized voters, especially in rural Bihar, and could lead to mass disenfranchisement.
The controversy has also spilled into Parliament, with opposition MPs staging protests and disrupting proceedings to demand discussions on the SIR and the recent Pahalgam terror attack (“Operation Sindoor”). Recent media reports and affidavits filed by petitioners have also alleged “grave fraud” and irregularities in the SIR process, including instances of Booth Level Officers (BLOs) forging signatures and mass uploading enumeration forms without voters’ consent or proper documentation, with some even alleging forms of deceased individuals being submitted to meet targets.
The ECI, on the other hand, claims a high participation rate in the SIR, stating that over 7.24 crore electors (out of 7.89 crore registered voters) have submitted their enumeration forms, reflecting a 91.69% participation rate. The commission has described the SIR as a “massive and successful citizen participation effort” aimed at enhancing the accuracy of electoral rolls ahead of upcoming assembly elections. However, the Supreme Court’s continued emphasis on Aadhaar and Voter ID’s admissibility highlights the ongoing judicial scrutiny of the ECI’s methodology for this crucial exercise.