Public notices issued informing non-included Bihar voters to submit Aadhaar along with claims, Election Commission tells Supreme Court

The Election Commission of India (ECI) informed the Supreme Court on Thursday (August 21, 2025) that its public notices have expressly mentioned that copies of Aadhaar cards can be submitted along with their claims by voters aggrieved by non-inclusion in the draft Bihar electoral roll.

The application filed by the ECI seeking to place on record a status report follows an interim order passed by an apex court Bench headed by Justice Surya Kant on August 14  directing the poll panel to publish an enumerated, booth-wise list of approximately 65 lakh electors not included in the draft electoral roll during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in poll-bound Bihar.

The ECI said the list of names and details of 65 lakh electors in Bihar who were not included in the draft roll published on August 1 had been posted on the websites of all 38 District Electoral Officers in the State. The list also contained the reasons for their non-inclusion, including death, shifting of ordinary residence or duplicate entries.

Physical copies of the list have been displayed in panchayat bhavans, block development offices and panchayat offices in villages across Bihar for people to easily access them and enable enquiry.

Also read: ECI lists Bihar SIR, regular interactions with parties among its 28 key initiatives

The ECI said advertisements about the online availability of the lists had been issued in major newspapers, on radio and television and posted on social media. 

Right to know

The Court upheld the Bihar voters’ “right to know” and to preserve their Constitutional right to remain on the electoral roll in a democracy.

“People have a right to know. A high degree of transparency is required to inspire voters’ confidence. Put up the names of excluded electors with reasons out there in the public domain for all to see,” the Court had addressed the ECI.

The 65 lakh names were dropped from the draft roll despite the fact that their names had featured in the voters’ list prepared after a summary revision, merely months ago, in January 2025.

The August 14 order was also the first time the Court had formally directed the use of Aadhaar as proof of identity and residence in the Bihar SIR exercise.

“Aadhaar is a statutorily recognised instrument of identity and residence. It can be submitted as a document,” the Court had orally remarked.

The case is scheduled for hearing on August 22, 2025.