Intense drive: A Booth Level Officer checks documents during SIR at Jogbani in Bihar on July 8.
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Election Commission of India (ECI) on Saturday (July 12, 2025) said that it has distributed Enumeration Forms for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Voter Rolls in Bihar to almost all electors who were found at their addresses and added that the forms can be submitted by July 25 and the required documents later by August 30.
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The Commission stated that 100% of the forms had been printed and that distribution was nearly complete for all electors found at their respective addresses. As of 6:00 p.m. on Saturday (July 12, 2025), a total of 6,32,59,497 Enumeration Forms — or 80.11% of electors — had been collected.
The ECI had earlier, on July 6, issued front-page advertisements in Patna-based newspapers urging voters to submit their filled forms even if they did not yet possess the requisite documents. The advertisement clarified that Electoral Registration Officers could process such forms based on local inquiries or alternative documentary evidence.
Soon after, the Commission further clarified that while documents could be submitted until July 25, voters would also have another opportunity to provide them during the claims and objections period.
On July 10, while hearing a group of petitions challenging the SIR process in Bihar, the Supreme Court urged the ECI to consider Aadhaar, EPIC cards, and ration cards as valid forms of identification. The next hearing is scheduled for July 28, just ahead of the planned publication of the draft electoral rolls on August 1, 2025.
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In its statement, the Commission said 77,895 Booth Level Officers (BLOs), supported by an additional 20,603 newly appointed BLOs, are actively engaged in completing the enumeration exercise ahead of the July 25 deadline. Field-level supervision is being conducted by 38 District Election Officers (DEOs), 243 Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), and 963 Assistant EROs across the State, under the oversight of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), the Commission added.
Published – July 12, 2025 10:00 pm is