The Election Commission of India (ECI) has said it received 23,557 claims and objections over the draft voter list following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in Bihar, of which 741 have been disposed of so far, according to a press note issued on Thursday.
The ECI noted that after 14 days of the draft being published, no claim or objection had been submitted by any political party. It also confirmed that 87,966 forms had been received from new electors who have attained the age of 18 years or above, including six forms from BLAS.
Under the rules, claims and objections are to be disposed of by the concerned Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) after the expiry of seven days from the verification of eligibility documents.
As per SIR orders, no name can be deleted from the draft list, published on August 1, 2025, without the passing of a speaking order by the ERO or AERO, following an enquiry and after giving a fair and reasonable opportunity, the press note said.
The draft voter list was published after the SIR exercise in poll-bound Bihar on 1 August. The final electoral roll will be released after the one-month period given for claims and objections.
Until Wednesday, the poll body had received 17,665 complaints from electors, of which 341 were disposed of. During the same period, 74,525 forms were submitted by new electors who had attained the age of 18 years or above, including six forms from BLAS.
Also Read : Bihar SIR: 17,665 claims filed, none by political parties
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the Supreme Court began hearing a batch of petitions challenging the ECI’s decision to conduct an SIR of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar. The bench observed that the poll panel was correct in stating that an Aadhaar card is not conclusive proof of citizenship.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi also remarked that the inclusion and exclusion of citizens and non-citizens from electoral rolls falls within the remit of the ECI.
During the hearing, senior advocate Kapil Sibal, representing RJD MP Manoj Kumar Jha, argued that the exclusion of about 65 lakh voters from the draft electoral roll without any objection to their inclusion was unlawful.
The bench responded that, as per the rules, those excluded must submit applications for inclusion, and only at that stage will objections be considered.
The court also rejected the argument that most people in Bihar do not possess the majority of documents sought by the ECI as proof during the SIR.
Follow us
