It added that if the order was not set aside, “…(it) can arbitrarily and without due process disenfranchise lakhs of voters from electing their representatives, thereby disrupting free and fair elections and democracy in the country, which are part of basic structure of the Constitution”.

It argued that “the documentation requirements of the directive, lack of due process as well as the unreasonably short timeline for the said…Revision…further make this exercise bound to result in removal of names of lakhs of genuine voters from electoral rolls leading to their disenfranchisement”.

As per the EC’s June 24 order, the Bihar electoral roll will be prepared afresh, with the 2003 roll as the basis. All 7.8 crore electors in the state will have to fill out enumeration forms. While those who were on the 2003 rolls—4.96 crore electors—will not have to provide any additional documents, the post-2003 electors—2.93 crore people—would have to give their own and their parents’ date and/or place of birth proof.

In its plea, ADR said the June 24 order “has shifted the onus of being on the voters’ list from the State to citizens. It has excluded identification documents such as Aadhaar or ration cards which further make marginalised communities and the poor more vulnerable to exclusion from voting”.

The plea said the declaration, as required under the special intensive revision process, is violative of Article 326 “in so far as it requires a voter to provide documents to prove his/her citizenship and also citizenships of his/her mother or father, failing which his/her name would not be added to the draft electoral roll and can be deleted from the same”.

The plea contended that the Election Commission has issued “unreasonable and impractical timeline” to conduct the special intensive revision in Bihar, so close to state elections which are due in November 2025. “There are lakhs of citizens (whose names did not appear in 2003 ER) who do not possess the documents as required under the SIR order, there are many who may be able to procure the documents but the short timeline mentioned in directive may preclude them from being able to supply the same within the time period,” the plea said.

Pointing out that “Bihar is a state with high poverty and migration rates where many lack access to documents like birth certificates or parental records,” it added that “as per estimates over 3 crore voters and more particularly from marginalised communities (such as SC, STs and migrant workers) could be excluded from voting due to the stringent requirements as mentioned in the SIR order”.

The writ petition said, “The current reports from Bihar, where SIR is already underway, show that lakhs of voters from villages and marginalized communities do not possess the documents as being sought for them.”

The NGO said that Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950 allows the ECI to direct a special revision of electoral rolls “for reasons to be recorded”, but the directive for Bihar “lacks recorded reasons supported by any evidence or transparent methodology, rendering it arbitrary and thus liable to be struck down”.

The plea said that “while SIR of Bihar or any other state of country is a positive step, but the manner in which ECI has directed the conduct of SIR in a poll bound state like Bihar, has raised questions from all stakeholders, particularly the voters”.

The NGO said the Special Summary Revision (SSR) was already conducted between October 29, 2024 and January 6, 2025 and addressed issues such as migration and ineligible voters due to death or other reasons and “thus, there is no reason for such a drastic exercise in a poll bound state in such a short period of time, violating right to vote of lakhs of voters”.