August 16, 2025

In a big and bold move, the Supreme Court on Thursday told the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish the list of around 65 lakh names dropped from Bihar's voter list after a special revision. This draft roll came out on August 1, and now everyone will know who was removed and why. No more secret voter snatching! Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi made it clear: the Election Commission must upload the full list online, booth-wise and searchable, with clear reasons for each name removed. The ECI should also put up the lists on notice boards in panchayat bhavans and block development offices by August 19, 5 pm sharp. The case will continue on August 22. To make it easy for voters to check, physical lists with explanations must be displayed locally. Plus, Bihar’s chief electoral officer will get the soft copies to show on his website. The court wants wide publicity too – through newspapers, All India Radio, Doordarshan, and the ECI’s social media pages. And here’s an exciting twist! The public notice will say that if someone’s name is missing, they can raise objections. All they need to do is show their Aadhaar card as proof of identity and residence. This is big because the ECI had not accepted Aadhaar as proof of citizenship before. Justice Bagchi said voters have a “fundamental right” to know why they vanished from the draft roll. “The same requires 'widest publicity',” he added. He also asked, “why put data on the click of an inquiry when the entire data can be put on the website?” Justice Kant spoke with sharp words: “We don't want citizen rights to be dependent on political parties.” Why should a local villager be stuck with a booth-level officer for info? No! Voters should not run behind politicians for their own voting rights. The process must be fair because it affects a voter's power to vote. However, the ECI counsel spoke about tough times, saying the commission faces sharp “political hostility.” Opposition parties seem to agree on almost nothing and even challenge EVMs based on election outcomes. The counsel said, “if you win in one state, EVM is good. And when you lose in another, EVM is bad.” This shows how democracy can sometimes be a tug-of-war.

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Tags: Supreme court, Election commission, Bihar elections, Voter list, Electoral roll, Voter rights,