Bihar SIR row: SC order asks EC to disclose details of 65 lakh dropped voters

New Delhi, Aug 14: Issuing a slew of directions, the Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish the details of 65 lakh voters whose names were dropped from the draft roll published on August 1.
The bench was acting on a batch of pleas challenging the ECI decision to conduct the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in poll-bound Bihar.
A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi asked the poll panel to publish the details of 65 lakh voters whose names were dropped from the draft roll published on August 1.
“The list of approximately 65 lakh voters, whose names appeared in the voter list as on 2025 but are not included in the draft roll dated August 1, 2025, shall be displayed on the websites of the district election officers (District-wise),” it said.
The top court said the information will be booth-wise, but it can be accessed by referring to the Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) number of each voter.
“The list so displayed shall also disclose the reason for non-inclusion in the draft roll,” the bench said.
The chief electoral officer of Bihar, the bench said, will also get the soft copies of the district-wise lists of the voters who have not been included in the draft roll, along with the reasons for their non-inclusion, displayed on its website. The eight-page order read, “It is clarified that the lists so displayed in all the websites shall be in searchable mode with the EPIC number.”
In addition, the booth-wise lists of 65 lakh voters whose names were not included in the draft roll, should also be displayed on the notice board of respective panchayat bhavan and offices of the block development officer/panchayat officers to enable the general public to have access to the voters lists along with the reasons for non-inclusion of their names, it added.
The top court directed the same to be broadcast and telecast via radio and electronic media. (PTI)