New Delhi | August 29, 2025
The Supreme Court of India on Friday agreed to hear on Monday, September 1, 2025, a batch of petitions seeking an extension of the deadline for filing claims and objections under the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Electoral Rolls.
A Bench led by Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed that the matter be listed on Monday after an urgent mentioning was made by Advocate Prashant Bhushan.
Bhushan informed the Court that the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) along with several other political parties have approached the Supreme Court requesting an extension of the September 1 deadline, arguing that lakhs of eligible voters risk being excluded from the rolls due to inadequate time and procedural lapses.
When the Bench asked why the petitioners could not directly approach the Election Commission of India (ECI) with their request, Bhushan clarified that they had already done so but without any satisfactory response.
“We have already made representations to the Election Commission, but the time left is too short, and the exclusion list is massive. Without judicial intervention, lakhs of voters may be permanently left out,” Bhushan submitted.
The Bihar electoral rolls have been under intense scrutiny after reports surfaced that around 65 lakh names were excluded during the Special Intensive Revision process.
On August 22, the Supreme Court had directed the ECI to:
• Publish the names of all excluded voters both on its website and at booth-level offices.
• Provide the reasons for exclusion in a transparent manner.
• Permit excluded voters to submit applications for inclusion online using their Aadhaar cards.
During that hearing, the Bench had orally assured the parties that requests for an extension of the deadline would be considered at a later stage, even though the matter was formally posted for September 8.
The present petitions, filed by the RJD and allied political groups, emphasize that the timeframe till September 1 is grossly insufficient given the scale of exclusion and the need for physical verification. They argue that genuine voters, particularly those from rural and marginalized communities, may be permanently disenfranchised unless more time is given to file claims and objections.
The petitioners have therefore asked the Supreme Court to extend the September 1 deadline by at least a few weeks, ensuring that affected individuals can adequately respond and seek corrections before the final electoral rolls are published.
The case has wide-ranging electoral and political significance:
• Bihar is headed for Assembly elections in 2025, and any large-scale exclusion of voters could severely impact electoral fairness.
• The controversy touches upon the constitutional right to vote, and whether procedural lapses in electoral roll preparation can amount to a violation of Article 14 (equality) and Article 326 (universal adult suffrage).
• Political parties have argued that the lack of transparency in the revision process has created doubts about the integrity of the electoral rolls.
The matter will now be taken up on September 1, when the Supreme Court may decide whether to grant interim relief by extending the deadline or await the Election Commission’s detailed submissions on the issue.
