TMC MP in SC against Bihar poll rolls revision

Kolkata: Trinamool Krishnanagar MP Mahua Moitra on Saturday filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court against the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, urging the scrapping of the Election Commission move. The EC order violated the Constitution and the Representation of People (RP) Act, 1950, she claimed. Trinamool has been opposing the poll panel move since the order was passed on June 24.

In her petition, Moitra said that she was afraid the SIR would be replicated in Bengal next, ahead of its assembly polls in 2026. Instructions for it "have already been given to the EROs", claimed the MP in her petition. Moitra has urged the SC to stop the EC from "issuing similar orders for SIR in other states."

Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee earlier called the poll panel move "worse than NRC" and alleged that asking for the birth certificates of parents would "target Bengal".

Moitra, in her petition, a copy of which has been accessed by TOI, argues: "Electoral roll in Bihar has undergone special summary revision between Oct 2024 and Jan 2025, with the existing roll being published on Jan 6, which included updating and deleting names based on deaths, migration and other eligibility factors. Thus, the EC decision to conduct a second revision in such a draconian manner in a poll-bound state is unjustified and unreasonable."

Moitra's petition also claims that the EC order mirrored NRC. "The order disproportionately affects economically and socially vulnerable communities and resembles the structure and consequences of the NRC." The move, she says, is absurd because "it requires voters to again prove their eligibility" after having "voted multiple times".

Moitra also questioned the timing of the SIR, saying, "The exercise is being undertaken in close proximity to the Bihar assembly elections scheduled for Nov, thereby risking large-scale exclusion of eligible voters.. The petitioner has reasons to believe that the said exercise would be replicated in Bengal in the coming months." Calling the move "extra-legal," Moitra argued that the "order arbitrarily excludes commonly accepted identity documents such as Aadhaar and ration cards from the list of accepted documents, thereby putting a huge burden on voters who are at a risk of getting disenfranchised."

This comes after This line of argument has also found mention in a similar plea that has also been filed by the NGO the Association of Democratic Reforms (ADR) moved the SC on Friday, challenging the poll panel's direction. ADR also sought the setting aside of the order and communication, arguing that it violated the Constitution. The NGO also claimed that the poll panel order could "arbitrarily and without due process" disenfranchise lakhs of voters and disrupt free and fair elections.

Moitra's petition also claims that the EC order mirrored NRC. CM Banerjee has already termed "this NRC-like move threatens the integrity of our electoral process and risks disenfranchising millions." "The order disproportionately affects economically and socially vulnerable communities and resembles the structure and consequences of the NRC." The move, Moitra says, is absurd because "it requires voters to again prove their eligibility" after having "voted multiple times". This is a first in India where "electors whose names are already there in rolls are being asked to prove their eligibility," the petition says.

Moitra told reporters, "TMC and CM Banerjee have already said SIR posed a great danger to democracy. EC has begun this in Bihar and plans to start this in Bengal and other states. Deletion of names can be done only after a hearing. SIR also asks one to prove their place of birth. For people born between 1987 and 2004, one has to prove the birthplace of one parent, and for people born after that, they need to prove the birthplace for both parents... EC is merely executing BJP's Machiavellian plans."