The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Thursday agreed to reveal the names of voters removed from Bihar’s electoral rolls after being questioned by the Supreme Court.

During a hearing on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in Bihar, the apex court asked the poll body why it could not make public the names of voters who had died, migrated, or shifted to other constituencies. The ECI informed the court that these details had already been shared with political parties in Bihar.

“Why not display these names on a notice board or a website? This would allow affected individuals to seek corrective action within 30 days,” the court remarked, stressing that citizens should not be dependent on political parties to access such information.

The bench suggested that the ECI issue a public notice specifying where — either online or in physical form — the details of such voters could be accessed.

In its order, the Supreme Court directed the ECI to publish the names of approximately 65 lakh voters removed from Bihar’s draft list through local newspapers, Doordarshan, radio, and official social media channels. Additionally, the booth-wise list must be displayed at all Panchayat Bhawans, Block Development Offices, and Panchayat Offices to ensure the public can manually access the information.

The directions were issued by a bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi, while hearing multiple petitions challenging the ECI’s June 26 order regarding the SIR in Bihar.

On August 13, the top court had observed that electoral rolls cannot remain “static” and that periodic revisions are necessary. It also noted that expanding the list of acceptable identity documents from seven to eleven for Bihar’s SIR was “voter-friendly and not exclusionary.”

The revision drive has been contested by opposition parties, including the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), the Congress, and the NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR).

The SIR exercise in 2025 led to the removal of around 65 lakh names from Bihar’s draft electoral rolls.

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