3 lakh Bihar voters flagged over ‘document mismatch’ as poll body issues notices

Nearly three lakh electors in Bihar have been served notices after discrepancies were found in their submitted documents during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state’s electoral rolls.

The Election Commission (EC) has made it clear that those flagged must appear before Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) within seven days with original documents to establish their eligibility.

Officials said the number of notices could climb further as scrutiny of applications continues across Assembly constituencies. The draft electoral roll published on August 1 included 7.24 crore electors, with September 1 set as the deadline for submitting any pending eligibility papers from a list of 11 documents prescribed by the EC. According to the poll panel, 98.2% of electors’ documents have already been received.

Notices are being sent to those who failed to submit proof, provided incorrect papers, or whose citizenship is under doubt, sources said. The standard notice — while not citing any specific legal provision—states that “discrepancies” have been detected in the elector’s submissions, creating “reasonable doubt” over their right to be enrolled.

An official clarified that no name will be struck off without due process. “Each case will be heard, and a speaking order passed by the concerned ERO before deletion,” the official said. The “doubtful citizenship” red flags, sources added, were flagged both by Booth Level Officers during the verification drive and by inputs from enforcement agencies.

The EC’s June 24 SIR order had required all 7.89 crore registered voters in Bihar to re-submit enumeration forms by July 25. By the deadline, 65 lakh names had already been struck off for being deceased, migrated, enrolled in multiple places, or untraceable. In a marked departure from past practice, the EC also asked those registered after 2003 to furnish birth and parentage documents, especially for those born after July 1, 1987, to establish citizenship.

This unprecedented move — departing from routine annual updates — has triggered controversy and is already being contested in the Supreme Court through a batch of petitions.