New DelhiAugust 29, 2025 07:31 AM IST
First published on: Aug 29, 2025 at 07:31 AM IST
As part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) have so far found discrepancies in documents of about 3 lakh electors and begun issuing notices to them to appear before them within seven days, The Indian Express has learnt.
This number is likely to increase as the EROs of Assembly constituencies are still scrutinising the documents, according to officials aware of the development.
According to the Election Commission, 7.24 crore electors had made it to the draft electoral roll published on August 1. They have time until September 1 to submit eligibility documents from a list of 11 indicated by the EC. On Sunday, the EC, in a statement, said that 98.2% of electors’ documents had been received.
Starting this week, EROs have been issuing notices to such electors who have either not submitted any document, or submitted incorrect documents or whose eligibility, including citizenship, is under doubt, according to four sources aware of the matter.
The printed notice, issued by EROs, does not mention any rule or provision of law, but says it is a notice for “verification of entries in the draft roll”. It says that the name of the elector concerned was included in the draft roll based on the enumeration form and declaration.
“Lekin aapke dwara prastut dastavezo ke satyapan ke dauraan, aisa pratit hota hai ki aapke dwara prastut dastavezo mein visangatiya hai, jisse es vidhan sabha shetra mein matdata ke roop mein panjikrit hone ke aapke aadhikar par yathochit sandeh utpan hota hai (However, during the verification of the documents submitted by you, discrepancies were found that create reasonable doubt as to your right to be enrolled as an elector of this Assembly constituency),” the notice states.
It asks the elector concerned to appear before the ERO at the designated time and place along with the original copies of the documents. Electors are being given seven days notice, the sources said.
One official said no names would be deleted without a hearing and a speaking order passed by the ERO concerned. The information of “doubtful citizenship” had been gathered by Booth Level Officers during the enumeration period as well as from “enforcement agencies”, the official said.
According to the EC’s SIR order issued on June 24, all 7.89 crore registered electors of Bihar were required to fill enumeration forms by July 25 to make it to the draft roll. According to the EC, 7.24 crore forms had been received by the deadline, leading to the deletion of 65 lakh names from the rolls in the draft stage. These, the EC said, had been found to be dead, migrated, enrolled at multiple places or untraceable. The EC also required all those registered after 2003, when the last intensive revision was done, to submit documents proving their date and/or place of birth as well as of their parents for those born after July 1, 1987, thereby establishing citizenship. This was a departure from the usual practice of updating the rolls annually and before elections. The EC’s order has been challenged through a batch of petitions in the Supreme Court.