The Supreme Court, on Wednesday, struck a delicate balance between deference and oversight as it heard the challenge to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls. The top court, while refusing to stay the process, reminded the Election Commission of India (ECI) that it is already aware of its constitutional responsibility and must ensure transparency, fairness, and due process.

The observation came during the hearing of a series of petitions filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and other civil society groups alleging that the ECI’s ongoing SIR exercise has led to the arbitrary deletion of over 65 lakh names from Bihar’s voter list, potentially disenfranchising thousands of genuine voters ahead of the 2025 assembly elections.

Court’s caution

A bench

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