The Supreme Court heard the Bihar Special Intensive Revision (SIR) case about major voter list errors. Yogendra Yadav told the court that around 20% of SIR forms were filled by booth-level officers (BLOs), preventing a bigger crisis. Without them, 2 crore voters might have been left out instead of 6.5 million. He said the SIR led to the largest voter exclusion in India’s history, cutting Bihar’s voter list by 4.7 million.
The Court asked the Bihar State Legal Services Authority to help 3.66 lakh excluded voters appeal to the Election Commission. Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi stressed that rejected voters must get detailed reasons, not one-line orders.
Yadav alleged that 45,000 names were unclear, and over 4 lakh house numbers were listed as “0.” He claimed the Election Commission used a “genealogical method” to fill voter gaps, risking errors. EC lawyer Rakesh Dwivedi objected to Yadav’s remarks, saying the court wasn’t a lecture hall.
The Court will review the appeal process again on October 16.
