Supreme Court refuses interim stay on Election Commission's voter list revision drive in Bihar, hearing on Thursday

The top court said it will hear the matter on an urgent basis as was requested by the petitioners.

But no interim stay has been issued by the courtroom.

Among the petitioners are Rashtriya Janata Dal MP Manoj Jha, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra, activist Yogendra Yadav.

After the court scheduled its hearing, Moitra posted on X, "Bihar SIR petition allowed in SC. Notice issued. Hearing on Thursday. Satyameva Jayate."

The ECI has launched a Special Intensive Revision as a drive to verify the list of voters, adding names of eligible citizens and trashing the ineligibles.

The poll body said its Booth Level Officers will conduct a door-to-door survey to verify the voters seeing necessary documents.

The opposition parties have lashed out at the ECI over the drive, which the Opposition claims will exclude many genuine voters.

Congress national president Mallikarjun Kharge slammed the country's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) saying, "Why are people who have been voting election after election being asked to show documents for voting?"

"Forcibly depriving the poor, weak, deprived, Dalit, oppressed, and backward people of their voting rights is the very conspiracy of BJP-RSS. Nearly 8 crore people will suffer because of this. The responsibility to correct the voter list lies with the ECI, not the public."

 RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav claimed the BJP is sure of a defeat in the upcoming Bihar assembly elections so it conspired with the ECI to snatch away voters' rights.

The former Bihar Deputy Chief Minister wrote on X, "Modi-Nitish are determined to crush the Constitution and democracy and to snatch your voting rights through the Election Commission. These people, seeing a direct defeat, have now become frantic. When the voter's vote itself is eliminated, what democracy and Constitution will remain?"

The Bihar polls are expected to be held in the last quarter of the current year.