EC: Not legally bound to disclose omitted names

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has told the Supreme Court that it is under no legal obligation to prepare or publish a separate list of nearly 6.5 million names not included in Bihar’s draft electoral rolls, or to disclose reasons for their non-inclusion.

- Utkarsh Anand

In its latest affidavit on the contentious special intensive revision (SIR) in Bihar ahead of assembly polls later this year, the Commission emphasised that the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, only require publication of the draft roll and provision for claims and objections, and not any parallel deletion list.

ECI argued that non-inclusion in a draft roll is not the same as deletion from the electoral roll. The draft is a work-in-progress document, it said, and names may not appear for a variety of reasons, such as unreturned enumeration forms, or errors detected during house-to-house verification, but these names remain open to restoration through the claims process before final publication.

“The draft roll simply shows that the duly filled enumeration form of existing electors has been received during the enumeration phase,” stated the affidavit, adding individuals missing from the draft can file Form 6 along with the prescribed declaration to claim inclusion during the claims and objections period from August 1 to September 1, 2025.

Contesting allegations by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) that the omissions amounted to mass deletions without transparency, the poll body also accused the NGO of making "patently false and erroneous assertions" and attempting to mislead the court.