The Election Commission of India (ECI) has started issuing notices to voters in Bihar whose documents were found unsatisfactory during the ongoing Special Intensive Review (SIR) of voter lists

Related Articles

Haryana: Anurag Dhanda launched a scathing attack on the Nayab Singh Saini government, saying that the BJP has turned Haryana into a “paradise for outsiders.”

47 seconds ago

A vehicle in Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar’s convoy hit a traffic DSP, injuring him, but he narrowly escaped serious harm.

13 minutes ago

Maharashtra: Mumbai Police have withdrawn the police security provided to film director Hansal Mehta and actor Salman Khan’s manager Prashant Gunjalkar after a security review.

28 minutes ago

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has started issuing notices this week to voters in Bihar whose documents have not been found satisfactory during the ongoing Special Intensive Review (SIR) of voter lists. Most of the notices have been issued for the border districts adjoining Nepal and West Bengal. The reason behind this notice is said to be providing incorrect or incomplete documents.

Officials said that most of these cases have been found in border districts like East Champaran, West Champaran, Madhubani, Kishanganj, Purnia, Katihar, Araria and Supaul. Hearing on this entire matter will be held from next week. If satisfactory documents are not provided during the hearing, then not only will their name be removed from the voter list, but citizenship is also at risk.

Areas adjoining Nepal and Bengal

SIR has been done before the assembly elections in Bihar. Under this, names of 65 lakh people have been removed from the voter list. On the other hand, the documents of many people have not been found satisfactory. This is the reason why the commission is going to verify them again. Document deficiencies have been found in areas bordering Nepal. These include East Champaran, West Champaran, Madhubani, Supaul and Araria bordering Nepal while Purnia and Katihar border West Bengal, and Kishanganj borders both Nepal and West Bengal.

Why were notices issued?
The Election Commission said that notices are being issued to voters who had submitted their counting forms and were included in the draft roll, but have either not submitted any supporting documents, or have submitted incorrect documents, or whose eligibility – including citizenship – is in doubt. The process of issuing notices has started across the state, but the highest number of such cases are from these border districts.

When will this matter be heard?
Many Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) of these districts said that they have started checking the counting forms and have started issuing notices early this week. The hearing will begin next week. For example, the first hearing in the Raxaul assembly constituency in East Champaran district will be held on September 3, while the first hearing in the Madhubani assembly constituency is scheduled for September 7, 2025.