Supreme Court Threatens to Scrap Bihar's Entire Voter List Revision Amid 'Vote Chori' Row
In a stern warning with potentially nationwide implications, the Supreme Court of India has declared that it will not hesitate to cancel the entire electoral roll revision exercise in poll-bound Bihar if any illegality is discovered in the methodology used by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The court's dramatic intervention comes amid a raging political firestorm, with opposition parties accusing the ECI of wrongfully deleting lakhs of genuine voters under its "Special Intensive Revision" (SIR) program and leveling explosive allegations of "vote chori" (vote theft).
The Heart of the Controversy: 65 Lakh Voters Deleted
The legal challenge was initiated after the ECI published a draft list on August 18, which revealed that a staggering 65 lakh names had been struck from Bihar's electoral rolls. Opposition parties immediately cried foul, alleging that the deletions were being carried out without proper verification and were disproportionately affecting marginalized communities. A key point of contention was the ECI's initial refusal to accept Aadhaar as a valid proof of identity and residence for voter registration, a decision the opposition argued was designed to disenfranchise a huge number of voters, as Aadhaar is the most widely held form of identification in the country. This led to a direct confrontation between the political opposition and the constitutional body responsible for conducting free and fair elections.
The Court's Decisive Intervention on Aadhaar
The Supreme Court has already made one decisive intervention in the matter. On September 8, it overruled the ECI's objections and directed that Aadhaar must be treated as a valid document for voter inclusion. The bench made it clear that while the Aadhaar card cannot be used to prove citizenship, it is undeniably a legitimate proof of a person's identity and residence, and its exclusion was therefore unjust. This ruling was a significant victory 
for the petitioners and signaled the court's willingness to closely scrutinize the ECI's procedures to ensure they are fair and inclusive.
A High-Stakes Showdown Looms
While the Supreme Court has stated that for now, it is presuming the ECI has followed the law, its patience is clearly limited. The bench has refused to offer any piecemeal opinions, instead setting the stage for a conclusive showdown with a final hearing scheduled for October 7. The justices have explicitly warned that their final verdict will have pan-India implications, meaning the outcome could reshape the rules for electoral roll revisions across the entire country.
The political stakes have been further raised by the ECI's aggressive pushback against its critics. The poll panel has accused the opposition of deliberately misleading voters with its "vote chori" allegations and has even demanded that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi either provide evidence to back his claims or issue a public apology. With the final hearing now just weeks away, the Supreme Court is poised to deliver a landmark judgment that will not only determine the fate of Bihar's electoral roll but could also redefine the relationship between India's electoral watchdog and its political parties.
