The Special Intensive Revision Of Electoral Rolls: Statutory Framework And Field Implementation
- IJLLR Journal
- 6 hours ago
- 1 min read
Aarush Giri, Chandigarh University UP
ABSTRACT
This intensive revision of electoral rolls, conducted by the Election Commission of India in Bihar in June 2025, and gradually rolled out throughout the country in phases, has since then become India's most comprehensive update in over twenty years. This article consists of a two- Register essay on the procedure of constitution, statute and subordinate legislation and on procedure in operation. It mentions the power vested in the Commission under Article 324 of the Constitution read with Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and the place of Rule 25 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 within that scheme; Sets out the procedural steps taken, starting from the roll freezes and continuing with enumerations, published draft roll, claims & objections, and final roll publications; and captures the recorded results from the Bihar experience and subsequent phased national release. It then examines the Supreme Court's decision in Association for Democratic Reforms v. Election Commission of India, that upheld the Bihar revision and notes the impact of that decision on the legal status of the register of voters in general, particularly the fact that in that decision enrolment was treated as a rebuttable presumption. The account is descriptive and not normative, that is when opinions differ, the argument from the opposite point of view is explained rather than decided.
