MAHUA MOITRA MOVES SUPREME COURT AGAINST BIHAR VOTER LIST REVISION, SEEKS NATIONWIDE STAY ON SIMILAR ELECTORAL ROLL OVERHAULS:

Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) recent order directing a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar. Moitra, who represents the Krishnanagar constituency in West Bengal, has not only sought the quashing of the ECI’s order dated June 24, 2025, but has also urged the Court to issue a preventive injunction against the implementation of similar revision exercises in other states.

According to the petition, the ECI’s directive mandating a fresh verification of voters in Bihar is in direct violation of several constitutional provisions, including Articles 14 (equality before the law), 19(1)(a) (freedom of expression), 21 (protection of life and personal liberty), 325 (no person to be ineligible for inclusion in electoral roll on grounds of religion, race, caste or sex), and 326 (elections to the House of the People and Legislative Assemblies to be on the basis of adult suffrage). Moitra also contends that the directive runs afoul of the statutory framework laid down in the Representation of People Act, 1950, and the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960.

The petition highlights that, for the first time in Indian electoral history, voters who are already enrolled in the electoral rolls and who have voted in previous general and assembly elections—are being asked to furnish fresh documentation to prove their eligibility. This requirement, according to the petitioner, places an undue burden on voters and carries the risk of mass disenfranchisement. It also alleges that the directive mandates the production of citizenship-related documents, including proof of parentage, as a condition for inclusion or retention in the rolls. Such a requirement, the petition argues, introduces criteria that are beyond the scope of the Constitution and the electoral laws.

Moitra contends that widely accepted identity documents like Aadhaar cards and ration cards have been arbitrarily excluded from the list of acceptable documents, thereby escalating the risk of wrongful exclusion. This approach, she argues, is unreasonable and has already created chaos on the ground. According to field reports from Bihar, lakhs of voters, particularly those from rural and marginalized communities—are now facing imminent exclusion from the voter rolls because of these onerous requirements.

The petition also draws a parallel between the ongoing revision process and the National Register of Citizens (NRC), arguing that the structure and impact of the SIR closely resemble the NRC mechanism, which has been heavily criticized for causing large-scale exclusion and hardship. It further alleges that the order provides inadequate procedural safeguards, particularly through Paragraph 13, which stipulates that failure to submit fresh enumeration forms by July 25, 2025, will result in exclusion from the draft electoral roll.

Calling the revision exercise “absurd,” the petition notes that existing voters are being asked to re-prove their eligibility despite having voted multiple times based on their earlier inclusion. It also raises concern about the compressed timeline for compliance, which the petitioner says makes it practically impossible for many eligible voters to gather the required documentation in time.

Moitra’s plea also refers to credible information suggesting that similar revision exercises are being planned in other states, including West Bengal, where field instructions have already been issued to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) for implementation beginning in August 2025. The petition has been filed through Advocate Neha Rathi and urges the Supreme Court to step in and prevent any further erosion of democratic rights.