Bihar SIR: Eight border districts account for most notices by Election Commission of India
Districts sharing borders with Nepal and West Bengal have highest number of voters who did not submit needed documents or whose eligibility and citizenship are under doubt; hearings to begin next week
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As the Election Commission of India (ECI) started issuing notices this week to Bihar voters whose documents have not been found satisfactory during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, officials told The Hindu that most of these cases have been identified in border districts such as East Champaran, West Champaran, Madhubani, Kishanganj, Purnia, Katihar, Araria, and Supaul.
While East Champaran, West Champaran, Madhubani, Supaul, and Araria share borders with Nepal, Purnia and Katihar are on the West Bengal border, and Kishanganj shares a border with both Nepal and West Bengal.
The notices are being issued to voters who submitted their enumeration forms and were included in the draft roll, but have either not submitted any supporting document, or have submitted incorrect documents, or whose eligibility — including citizenship — is under doubt, ECI sources said. While the process of issuing notices has begun across the State, the highest number of such cases are from these border districts, they said.
Hearings next week
A host of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in these districts confirmed to The Hindu that they have begun the scrutiny of enumeration forms and started issuing notices earlier this week. Hearings will begin next week. In the Raxaul Assembly segment in East Champaran district, for instance, the first hearing will be held on September 3, while the first hearing in the Madhubani Assembly constituency is set for September 7, 2025.
They said that the notices are being delivered physically, with officials ensuring that they are received by the concerned voters themselves.
Each of these notices say that the documents on the basis of which the elector was included in the draft electoral roll were not satisfactory, and direct the voter to appear for a hearing before the ERO at the designated time and place, along with the original copies of their documents.
ERO’s powers
As per the SIR order issued on June 24, the ERO has the power to scrutinise all claims, conduct suo motu inquiries, and issue notices to any elector. In case the person is excluded from the final list after the hearing, the ERO must issue a “speaking order” stating the reasons for the decision.
2025-08-30
By
Anushka Tripathi
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