Opposition parties Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court’s suggestion to the Election Commission (EC) to consider accepting Aadhaar, voter ID and ration cards for updating the rolls in Bihar, calling it a “big victory”.

The top court on Thursday declined to stay the EC’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in Bihar, but said “it was leaving it to the EC to consider its suggestion on the inclusion of these three documents” and “if you have good reasons to discard it, discard it” but “give reasons”. A Bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi will hear the matter again on July 28.

Senior advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi, the lead counsel for the petitioners including eight political parties, termed the development “a significant advance”.

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“The Honourable Supreme Court has clearly suggested that three documents namely Aadhaar, EC Voter ID and ration card be also considered by the EC in the process of enumeration. Hitherto, they were alleged by us to be excluded all over Bihar. This is a significant advance. All other merits remain open and time for reply and rejoinder till the end of the month of July has been given,” he said.

TMC MP Mahua Moitra, one of the petitioners, posted on X: “Thank you Supreme Court for including Aadhar, EPIC & Ration cards as valid documents for any voter roll revision. This will go long way in preventing @ECISVEEP motive of disenfranchisement.” To be clear, the Supreme Court has not passed any direction on the matter.

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In Bihar, parties from both sides of the aisle largely backed the Supreme Court’s suggestion for the three documents in addition to the 11 currently accepted for the drive in the poll-bound state.

RJD MP and national spokesperson Manoj Jha, who is also among the petitioners, said: “I think this is a very big victory. The honourable court has shown the way forward to make this a process of inclusion.”

Jha told The Indian Express that the Supreme Court’s message was clear. “The SC observations show that the concerns of ordinary Biharis have reached the court… We believe the EC should include these three additional documents, especially Aadhaar, which has the widest reach in Bihar. It is also essential that if an existing elector’s name is removed, the EC must provide the reasons for doing so.” During visits to 10 districts across Bihar, The Indian Express had found that in village after village, residents expressed concern that they only had Aadhaar cards..

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Mahagathbandhan allies Congress, CPI (ML-Liberation) and Vikassheel Insaan Party echoed similar sentiments.

Bihar Congress Legislature Party leader Shakil Ahmad Khan said: “The fact that the Supreme Court has gently intervened, urging the EC to consider three widely-used identity documents including Aadhaar, shows that our concerns were genuine.”

JD(U) chief spokesperson Neeraj Kumar said: “Whatever measures the ECI takes, our primary concern is that genuine voters are not left out in the updated electoral rolls.” Another JD(U) spokesperson, Rajeev Ranjan, said the SC decision proved that Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav had “failed to create psychological pressure” on the Supreme Court through their Bihar Bandh on Wednesday.

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The LJP (Ram Vilas) said people should not be “burdened with unnecessary documentation”. Arun Bharti, Jamui MP and LJP (RV)’s Bihar in-charge said: “The SIR process in Bihar is a routine administrative effort… However, the process should not overburden people with excessive paperwork or confusion. We urge the EC to accept Aadhaar, voter ID, and ration cards to make the process easier. Every poor, Dalit, marginalized, and migrant voter in Bihar should feel confident that their identity and rights are protected. Our stand is clear: remove fake voters, but do not exclude genuine ones.”