SC asks EC for details of 3.66L excluded voters from final Bihar electoral roll

Asks whether added names were reinstatements of deleted voters or entirely new voters

- OUR CORRESPONDENT

The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Election Commission (EC) to provide details of 3.66 lakh voters whose names appeared in the draft voter list but were omitted from the final electoral roll after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bihar, highlighting what it called “confusion” over the revisions.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi noted that the draft list had seen 65 lakh deletions, yet additional names appeared in the final list, raising questions about whether the new entries were reinstatements of deleted voters or entirely new additions. “It appears from the data that there was a 65 lakh deletion in the draft list which you published... if you are deleting someone, please follow Rule 21 and the SOP,” Justice Bagchi observed.

“Now the final list shows an increase in numbers. There is confusion in the general democratic process—what is the identity of these add-ons, are they from deleted names or new names?”