India’s Supreme Court on 10–11 July declined to halt the Election Commission of India’s special intensive revision of Bihar’s electoral rolls but ordered the poll body to treat Aadhaar cards, voter identity cards and ration cards as valid supporting documents. A bench of Justices Sudhanshu Dhulia and Joymalya Bagchi also asked the Commission to explain, in an affidavit due 21 July, its legal authority, procedures and the timing of the exercise barely four months before the state’s assembly election. The next hearing is scheduled for 28 July. The revision drive, which began on 25 June, requires an estimated 7.9 million electors to verify their details; the Commission says 66.6% of enumeration forms have been collected to date. Booth-level officers—78,000 now and another 20,000 being recruited—are conducting door-to-door checks, with a draft roll due on 1 August and a final list set for 30 September. The poll body told the court no voter will be deleted without notice and hearing, while insisting citizenship verification remains mandatory under Article 326 of the Constitution. The court’s interim order triggered sharp political reactions. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and Rashtriya Janata Dal’s Tejashwi Yadav hailed the directive as protection against mass disenfranchisement and reiterated accusations that the BJP and the Election Commission are plotting to ‘steal’ the Bihar election, similar to alleged irregularities in Maharashtra last year. The BJP dismissed the claims as a pre-emptive attempt to justify an expected defeat and accused Congress of inconsistency on Aadhaar-based identification. Addressing a ‘Samvidhan Bachao’ rally in Bhubaneswar on 11 July, Gandhi broadened his criticism, alleging the BJP-led Odisha government is run for the benefit of billionaire Gautam Adani and repeating his charge that constitutional institutions are being subverted. The exchange underscores the high political stakes of the voter-list exercise as parties prepare for Bihar’s November polls.