Foreign Nationals Found on Bihar Voter Rolls, SC Flags Timing

GG News Bureau
Patna, 13th July: The Election Commission’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Bihar’s electoral rolls has revealed that several individuals originally from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar have managed to register themselves as voters in the poll-bound state, allegedly by acquiring Indian documents like Aadhaar, domicile, and ration cards through illegal means, sources in the Commission said.

Block Level Officers conducting door-to-door verification flagged the presence of such individuals during the massive survey launched on June 24. The Election Commission has stated that detailed investigations into these cases will be carried out from August 1 to August 30, and if the claims are substantiated, these names will be struck off the voter list.

This revelation has reignited the political storm in Bihar, where Assembly elections are due later this year, with the Opposition raising sharp concerns about the exercise being conducted so close to the polls.

While the EC maintains the revision is essential due to factors like urbanisation, migration, unreported deaths, and infiltration by illegal immigrants, Opposition parties including the RJD and Congress have alleged that the move is a “deliberate attempt to exclude voters”. The BJP, however, has defended the survey and questioned the Opposition’s objections to the removal of ineligible voters.

The controversy has reached the Supreme Court, where multiple petitions have been filed challenging the SIR’s timing and procedures. The petitioners include RJD MP Manoj Jha, TMC MP Mahua Moitra, civil society groups like the Association for Democratic Reforms, People’s Union for Civil Liberties, activist Yogendra Yadav, and former MLA Mujahid Alam.

During Thursday’s hearing, the apex court refrained from staying the revision process but expressed “serious doubts” about the EC’s ability to complete the exercise without disenfranchising genuine voters before the elections. “The exercise is not the problem… it is the timing,” the court observed.

The EC argued that Aadhaar is not a proof of citizenship, but the court insisted that documents like Aadhaar, ration cards, and voter ID should be accepted for re-verification. The court also warned that the disenfranchisement of any eligible voter, without sufficient time for appeal or remedy, could undermine the fairness of the electoral process.

“This intensive review should not be linked to the upcoming election,” the bench stated, emphasizing the importance of conducting the review independently of the election cycle.