At least five out of the 11 key documents sought by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for Bihar’s voters’ list revision do not indicate the applicant’s place or date of birth — one of the pre-requisites for inclusion in the electoral rolls.
Aadhaar, voter identity cards issued by the Election Commission of India (Electors Photo Identity Card) or PAN cards have not been included in the list of 11 indicative documents that the applicants can produce. However, these excluded documents are often the ones submitted by people to procure any of the 11 documents required for inclusion during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bihar.
Among the 11 documents sought by the ECI, the Scheduled Caste/Scheduled Tribe certificate, Forest Rights Certificate and Permanent Resident Certificate (or Domicile Certificates) do not display the date of birth or place of birth of an applicant. Two other documents accepted — the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and Family Register — do not exist in Bihar.
The Domicile Certificate, which can be issued by a Revenue officer or Tehsildar, is in much demand in Bihar since the SIR was announced, and is often issued on the production of an Aadhaar card.
A booth-level officer (BLO) of Chapra district of Bihar told The Hindu that out of the 500 forms distributed by him in the past one week, 185 were filled and returned by the applicants. “Just 10% of the filled forms were supported by the required documents — all submitted school leaving certificates. Those who did not have any of the 11 documents said they have applied for a domicile certificate and hoped to get it in the next 10-12 days. Applicants said they provided a copy of Aadhaar to get the domicile certificate,” the BLO said.
Brajesh Munan, a local functionary of the Opposition Congress party in the State said, “Among the documents sought only a few mention the date of birth. Usually Aadhaar is furnished as the proof of date of birth which the ECI is not accepting this time”.
Mr. Munan said that 25% of those expected to submit the documents are estimated to be at risk of not being able to furnish them, potentially facing deletion in the voter rolls.
To be included in the electoral rolls, nearly 2.93 crore people are expected to furnish the documents. During the 2024 General Elections, Bihar had 7.9 crore voters, out of which 4.96 crore voters who were there in the 2003 revision list, need not submit the details, the ECI has said.
A specimen of a caste certificate application on Bihar Government’s website required applicants to mention the Aadhar registration number.
Mirroring the criteria mentioned in the Citizenship Act, 1955, the ongoing SIR in the poll-bound State also empowers the electoral registration officers (ERO) to report cases of suspected foreign nationals to a “competent authority” based on the said documents.
According to the 2023 Manual of Electoral Rolls, published by the ECI in March of the same year, “In case of non-availability of documents, an oath or affirmation from one of the parents, or Sarpanch and even a visible examination by the BLO can work as proof of age.” The ERO can conduct local enquiries to establish proof of residence in the absence of documentary evidence.
When contacted ECI sources reiterated that “the final decision has to be taken by the ERO based on field visits.”
The SC/ST and OBC certificates, which are issued by officers of the rank of Tehsildars and above in the district administration, reveal only the holder’s name, where they “ordinarily reside”, their community’s name, their parents’ names, and community name. None of them display information on the holder’s place of birth or date of birth. This information is required in the application forms but not displayed in the certificates.
Further, FRA titles distributed under the 2006 law reveal information on the holder’s name/s, their spouse, dependants’ and parents’ names, the village and address, if they are ST or not, the area of land covered under it, and demarcations of the same. These titles are signed by a forest officer, a tribal welfare officer and the District Collector. In Bihar, as of May 2025, there are 191 individuals holding FRA titles in the entire State.
According to the June 24 order of the Election Commission for the Bihar SIR, people can furnish pension payment order issued to regular employee/pensioner of the government, any certificate issued by local authorities, banks, post offices and such prior to July 1, 1987; birth certificate; passport; matriculation/educational certificate; Permanent Residence Certificate issued by the competent State authority; Forest Right Certificate; SC/ST certificate; National Register of Citizens (wherever it exists), Family Register or any land/house allotment certificate issued by the government for the inclusion in the voter rolls.
(With inputs from Abhinay Lakshman)
Published – July 08, 2025 10:43 pm IST