Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is a statutory exercise under the Representation of the People Act 1950, but it has provoked concerns about voter exclusion. In the light of the 2025 Bihar SIR exercise, examine.
Subtopic: Polity · Representation of the People Act
How to structure your answer
Introduction: The Special Intensive Revision is conducted under Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act 1950 read with Rules 25–31 of the Registration of Electors Rules 1960; the Election Commission ordered an SIR in Bihar in June 2025 before the 2025 Assembly polls.
Body: Three dimensions — (i) statutory base — Section 16 disqualifications (non-citizenship, of unsound mind, disqualified by RPA 1951), Section 21 special revision; the ECI must follow due process and publish draft rolls; (ii) Bihar 2025 exercise — over 65 lakh names initially flagged for non-availability of documents, raising Article 326 universal-adult-suffrage concerns; (iii) judicial scrutiny — the Supreme Court in Association for Democratic Reforms v. Election Commission (interim order, July–August 2025) directed acceptance of Aadhaar, ration card and EPIC as identity proof during SIR.
Way forward / Conclusion: SIR must remain a tool of inclusion, not exclusion; transparent draft publication, independent grievance redress, and door-to-door verification with named BLOs are the safeguards.
Written within the word limit
140 words · target 150 words · 9 min
Introduction: The Special Intensive Revision is conducted under Section 21 of the Representation of the People Act 1950 read with Rules 25-31 of the Registration of Electors Rules 1960; the Election Commission of India ordered an SIR in Bihar in June 2025 before the October 2025 Assembly polls.
Body: Three dimensions frame the concern. First, statutory base — Section 16 disqualifications, Section 21 special revision, and Article 326's universal-adult-suffrage guarantee. Second, the Bihar 2025 exercise — over 65 lakh names initially flagged for non-availability of documents, raising voter-exclusion concerns and echoing the Assam NRC parallel under Section 6A Citizenship Act, examined in In re Section 6A (2024). Third, judicial scrutiny — Association for Democratic Reforms v. Election Commission (interim orders, July-August 2025) directed acceptance of Aadhaar, ration card and EPIC as identity proof.
Conclusion: SIR must remain a tool of inclusion; transparent draft publication, independent grievance redress and door-to-door BLO verification are the safeguards.
What an examiner expects to see
- Section 21 RPA 1950 — preparation and revision of electoral rolls
- Article 326 — universal adult suffrage
- Registration of Electors Rules 1960
- Section 16 RPA 1950 — disqualifications for registration
- Bihar SIR ordered by ECI in June 2025 before October 2025 Assembly polls
- Association for Democratic Reforms v. Election Commission (interim orders 2025)
- Booth Level Officer mechanism for door-to-door verification
Concrete cases, schemes and judgments
- Bihar SIR exercise June–September 2025
- Association for Democratic Reforms v. Election Commission (2025)
- Lal Babu Hussein v. Electoral Registration Officer (1995)
- ECI Manual on Electoral Rolls 2023
- Assam NRC parallel — Section 6A Citizenship Act, In re Section 6A (2024)