No Citizenship Proof Was Sought During 2002-03 Roll Revision: EC Records Reveal

In a recent counter-affidavit before the Supreme Court, the Election Commission of India (ECI) claimed that citizenship proof was sought from the public during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in Bihar in 2003. However, a closer examination of the EC’s own archival records and media reports published at the time paints a different picture. 

Two key documents – an EC press note dated October 6, 2003, and a news article titled ‘Public Verification of Electoral Rolls’ published by India Together on August 1, 2003 – suggest that no such citizenship documents were demanded from voters in 2003.

What did the EC’s press note say?

In its October 6, 2003, press note titled ‘Schedule for General Election to the Legislative Assemblies of Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Mizoram, NCT of Delhi, and Rajasthan and bye-elections to fill casual vacancies in State Legislative Assemblies’, the EC included a section called ‘Improvement in Electoral Rolls’.

Here, the commission spoke about a two-year-long initiative (2002-2003) across 27 states and union territories – including Bihar – to carry out a Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. It stated:

“The intensive revision of electoral rolls in Andhra Pradesh, Goa, Gujarat, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, Orissa, Rajasthan, Sikkim, Tamil Nadu, West Bengal, A&N Islands, Chandigarh, Daman & Diu, Dadar & Nagar Haveli, NCT of Delhi, Lakshadweep, Pondicherry were done in 2002 and in Bihar, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Madhya Pradesh, Punjab, Uttaranchal and Uttar Pradesh these were done in 2003.”

More importantly, the press note described the methodology:

“A door-to-door survey of the electors was undertaken during this exercise.”

There was no mention of requiring voters to furnish citizenship proof during the process. Instead, the EC emphasised citizen participation:

“With the aim of enhancing citizen involvement in the verification process, the Commission for the first time took the initiative to disseminate and publicize the electoral rolls amongst citizens at the local level. Copies of the electoral rolls were made available well in advance to local bodies for verification through active citizen participation.”

Another paragraph outlined how the revision was conducted in five states (unnamed in the press note). It read:

“The Chief Electoral Officers of the five states held meetings in gram sabhas and ward sabhas in rural areas, and in RWAs and other forums in urban areas, where names of electors residing in those areas were read aloud. Inclusions, deletions, and corrections were carried out in the electoral rolls based on local verification after following due procedure laid down in the rules.”

Assuming these five states are the ones listed in the press note’s title, further insights came from a 2003 news article.

What did the news article say?

The India Together article published August 1, 2003, was about a meeting held in Jaipur involving then Chief Election Commissioner James Michael Lyngdoh, State Election Commissioner I.J. Khanna and around 50 NGOs. The agenda: cleaning up the electoral rolls in Rajasthan before the upcoming elections.

It was unanimously suggested that:

“Verification of inaccuracies may be initiated by reading out the electoral rolls in both rural and urban local bodies like ward sabhas, gram sabhas, and other mohalla samitis.”

Acting promptly, the EC issued an order on August 6, 2003, to five states – Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Delhi, and Mizoram. 

The news article quoted the order:

“The long-term measures include changes in the procedures and guidelines for future intensive revisions and the new guidelines to this effect shall be issued soon. Since your State would be going to polls during the current year, the Commission directs that the following short-term measures should be strictly followed to increase fidelity of the existing rolls… The Commission has decided to disseminate and publicise the electoral rolls through the existing elected rural and urban local bodies and other responsible organisations on the ground. The entire electoral roll of the concerned areas shall be read over in the meetings of these bodies in the presence of the general public.”

Once again, no requirement of citizenship proof was mentioned. Instead, the EC emphasised public scrutiny and community verification.

Interestingly, the article hyperlinked the EC’s order – but the linked page is no longer available on the Commission’s website.

The ECI link in India Together's article, titled ‘Public Verification of Electoral Rolls’, is no longer available.

What changed in 2025?

The above records clearly show that during the 2003-2004 intensive revision across 27 states and UTs – including Bihar – the EC did not mandate proof of citizenship from voters.

This leaves several questions unanswered:

• Why is the EC demanding such proof now in the 2025 Bihar SIR?
• If the EC ever issued an order requiring such documents during a prior intensive revision, why is no such order publicly available on ECI website today?
• And if such an order exists, shouldn't the EC release it to end all speculation and controversy?

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