As controversy rages over the few documents considered valid for voter registration during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in Bihar, a key figure that has emerged is that of the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). The discretionary powers being given to these officials of the State government could taint the SIR process, warn Opposition leaders.
For a voter who does not have the required documents, it is the ERO who is empowered to take a call on their inclusion or exclusion in the voters list, according to the latest Election Commission manual on electoral rolls, issued in March 2023, as well as senior officials who spoke to The Hindu. The ERO’s verdict is to be based on field verification, reports from Booth Level Officers (BLOs), and the testimonials of village heads and families.
“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 Booth Level Officer (BLO) can work as proof of age. The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) can do local enquiries to establish proof of residence in the absence of documentary evidence,” the manual says.
Thus, in a situation where a voter does not have any of the 11 documents listed for the SIR process, the ERO can take a call based on such inputs.
Administrative officers
EROs are appointed under Section 13B of the Representation of the People Act, 1950. It is usually civil service or revenue officers, such as Sub-Divisional Officers or others of equivalent status who are appointed as EROs for Assembly constituencies which fall within their respective jurisdictions as far as practicable.
In Bihar, the EROs are Bihar Administrative Service officers and hold a rank of Senior Deputy Collector and above.
Several Bihar EROs told The Hindu that for now, they are just collecting and uploading enumeration forms with attached documents; it is only after the draft roll is uploaded on August 1 that they plan to tackle cases where no documentation is available. Most of the documents being attached to forms now being submitted are school leaving certificates, they said.
Alternative documents
The EROs accepted that they will face challenges in the cases of voters who do not have any of the 11 documents listed by the Election Commission in its SIR order.
Nitesh Kumar, the ERO of the Chapra Assembly seat said that the BLOs have directed many people to apply for domicile or permanent residency certificates, which are issued by tehsildars or local revenue officials, to submit as proof of residence along with their enumeration forms in case no other document is available.
However, he agreed that domicile certificates do not provide proof of the applicant’s age or place of birth, as required by the SIR. In such cases, “we depend on the Panchayat heads and the BLOs who have to certify the age and place of birth of the person,” Mr. Kumar said.
Discretionary powers
Anish Kumar, ERO of the Phulparas constituency, said that a certificate given by parents or the village mukhiya (headman) would be accepted, if other proofs of place of residence and date of birth are not available. In case these were also not available, an ERO can do a physical verification and decide whether the person is of voting age, that is, above 18 years, he said.
One ERO who did not wish to be named said that though physical verification cannot be used to determine an applicant’s exact age, one could find out whether the person was “mature enough”.
State influence
Opposition parties — who have approached the Supreme Court and held a Bihar bandh on Wednesday in protest against the SIR — warned that an ERO, who is a State government functionary, could be influenced by the ruling party in the State.
“You are actually allowing due process of law to be decided by the inclination of an ERO. It is also possible that the ERO, who is a State government official is influenced by the ruling party. Also, if the ERO is empowered to include a person if he or she is satisfied, then he can also exclude a person if dissatisfied,” RJD Rajya Sabha MP Manoj K. Jha told The Hindu.
According to an ECI statement on Wednesday (July 9, 2025), a total of 4,53,89,881 enumeration Forms have been collected in the last 15 days, accounting for 57.48% of the 7.9 crore existing electors in Bihar.
Published – July 09, 2025 10:15 pm IST
