New DelhiJul 5, 2025 12:19 IST
First published on: Jul 5, 2025 at 05:00 IST
AT the heart of the Election Commission’s special revision of rolls in Bihar is its instruction on June 24 that any person whose name is not recorded in the 2003 Electoral Rolls — an estimated 2.93 crore — needs to submit at least one of 11 documents establishing eligibility to vote.
Two EC statements, issued on June 24 and June 30, cite the reasons behind the revision: “inclusion of the names of foreign illegal immigrants,” “frequent migration,” young citizens becoming eligible to vote and non-reporting of deaths.
According to the EC instructions, the list of the 11 is indicative, not exhaustive. This is because under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) are empowered to make the electoral roll and the EC can only issue guidelines. The ERO has to be “satisfied” with the application and the EC cannot limit the documents the ERO can use to do so.
However, given the socio-economic realities of Bihar, the nature of the 11 documents frames the challenge:
- Any Identity card/pension Payment Order issued to regular employee/ pensioner of any Central Govt/State Govt/PSU: As per the Bihar Caste Survey 2022, around 20.49 lakh people in the state were in government service. This is only 1.57% of the state’s population.
- Any Identity Card/Certificate/Document issued in India by Government/Local Authorities/Banks/ Post Office/LIC/PSU prior to 01.07.1987: This also includes proof of employment even in local government. No data available.
- Birth Certificate issued by the competent authority: Birth certificates are issued by the Local Registrar of Births and Deaths, appointed by the State Government under the Registration of Births and Deaths (RBD) Act, 1969. In rural areas, the process involves panchayat secretary, block development officer and primary health centre medical officer. In urban areas it is done by municipal corporations and councils.
As per rules, the time taken to issue a birth certificate varies from a few days, if reported, to a protracted process involving an affidavit and, in case of delays, even an order from a First-Class Magistrate. Bihar has a poor record in this.
In 2000, the year from which the Registrar General of India began recording data, Bihar registered only 1.19 lakh births, 3.7% of the estimated births that year. Bihar’s birth registration rate has progressively increased, but even in 2007— those born in this year will be 18 years of age and eligible to vote in 2025 — only 7.13 lakh births were registered. This was one-fourth of the estimated births in Bihar that year.
- Passport: Issued by the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) after police verification and presentation of documents, including Aadhar. The total number of valid passports issued in Bihar till 2023 stood at 27.44 lakh, barely 2%.
- Matriculation/Educational certificate issued by recognised boards/universities: The matriculation exam is conducted by the boards like CBSE, ICSE and Bihar state board. As per Bihar Caste Survey 2022, 14.71% of the state have graduated from Class 10. The number is lower as the state has a higher dropout rate (26% dropout rate for classes 6-8), as per a written reply shared by Minister of State for Education Jayant Chaudhary to Lok Sabha on February 3, 2025.
- Permanent Residence certificate issued by competent State Authority: Referred to as Domicile certificate, this certifies that the applicant is a permanent resident. To apply for one, the applicant needs Aadhar, ration card, voter ID, matriculation certificate and affidavit of permanent residence; form needs to be submitted to BDO or Executive Magistrate.Takes up to 15 days, verification of papers can delay process.
- Forest Right Certificate: The Gram Sabha initiates the process for determining the nature and extent of individual or community forest rights, or both to be given to the Scheduled Tribes or other traditional forest dwellers. A Gram Sabha’s Forest Rights Committee calls for claims and accepts them in a prescribed form. A district-level committee headed by the district collector or deputy commissioner takes a final decision on the claims for titles.
As per data of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs as on June 1, 2025, Bihar had received only 4,696 claims under the Forest Rights Act and all of them were for individual rights. Just 191 claims were distributed, and 4,496 claims were rejected.
- OBC/SC/ST or any caste certificate issued by the Competent authority: As per the Bihar Cast Survey 2022 report, Bihar’s total population stood at 13.07 crore in 2022. Of this, OBCs were 3.54 crore (27%) and EBCs were 4.70 (36%), Scheduled Castes were 2.6 crore (20 per cent), Scheduled Tribes (STs) 22 lakh (1.6%). However, there is no data available about the number of people from these communities who got their certificates.
- National Register of Citizens (Wherever it exists): Not applicable to Bihar
- Family Register, prepared by State/Local authorities: The family register is an official record maintained by local authorities— such as Gram Panchayats or Urban Local Bodies—that lists details of every family residing in a jurisdiction. It typically includes: Name of the head of the household; names and details of all family members; age, gender, relationship to the head of household; permanent and current residential address; caste/category (General/OBC/SC/ST); occupation or livelihood details; Aadhaar numbers or Voter IDs (where linked) and sometimes ration card numbers or other welfare entitlements.
To register oneself in the family register, one would have to go to the Panchayat or Municipal office and fill an entry form with reasons such as newly settled or left out in the last enumeration. One would then be expected to attach supporting documents such as Aadhar, ration card, Birth Certificate, Marriage certificate etc. This would be followed by a verification through field visit by the concerned authority. It may take up to a fortnight or more to get oneself registered if all documents are in order.
- Any land/house allotment certificate by Government: Majority of Bihar voters lack land-related documents as the proportion of families who own land is very low in the state. As per Socio Economic & Caste Census 2011, 65.58 per cent of 1.78 crore rural households in Bihar did not own any land.
Not being able to furnish one of these documents could open another challenge. According to Paragraph 5 B of the EC’s instructions, the official concerned could flag “cases of suspected foreign nationals” to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act.