The Supreme Court of India has firmly warned the Election Commission (EC) that it will “step in” if any mass exclusion of voters occurs during the State’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar. A bench led by Justices Surya Kant and Joymalya Bagchi announced that a detailed hearing will be held on August 12–13 to consider petitions challenging the process.

Petitioners, represented by senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Prashant Bhushan, claim that approximately 65 lakh (6.5 million) people—some marked deceased or shifted—may be unfairly omitted from the draft list set to be published on August 1. They urged the Court to act if these names remain absent. Justice Kant emphasized that “the moment they deviate from [the SIR] notification… we will interfere,” assuring petitioners “we are here, we will hear you” .

The Court also emphasized its July 10 guidance urging the EC to prioritize “en masse inclusion” over exclusion and reconsider Aadhaar and voter ID as valid identification documents for the revision process. No injunction was issued to delay the draft publication; the Court granted leave for both parties to file written submissions by August 8 and appointed designated nodal counsels.