New DelhiOctober 7, 2025 07:03 AM IST First published on: Oct 7, 2025 at 07:00 AM ISTWith the Election Commission (EC) setting Bihar’s Assembly election process in motion, the Supreme Court hearing on the legality of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls – the next hearing is on Tuesday — is unlikely to affect this election as Article 329 of the Constitution curtails judicial intervention once the poll process starts.At a press conference on Monday, the EC announced the schedule for the Bihar Assembly elections: voting will be held in two phases, on November 6 and 11, and counting on November 14. The notification for the first phase will be issued on October 10 and for the second phase on October 13.AdvertisementOnce the election process begins, courts usually do not interfere. Article 329 places a “bar to interference by courts in electoral matters”. Clause (a) states that the validity of any law relating to delimitation or allotment of seats cannot be questioned in court, while Clause (b) provides that an election can be challenged only through an election petition filed in a manner provided by law passed by the Legislature.Accordingly, under Section 80 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, such petitions can be filed by a candidate or elector in the relevant High Court within 45 days of the declaration of results.Since 1952, the Supreme Court has consistently held that the word “election” in Article 329(b) refers to the entire process, starting from the issue of notification to the declaration of results. In N P Ponnuswami vs Returning Officer (1952), the court dismissed the petitioner’s challenge to a Madras High Court judgment that held it could not interfere with the returning officer’s rejection of his nomination papers. The Supreme Court said “election” in Article 329(b) covered the whole election process.AdvertisementEven so, the Supreme Court, during its last hearing on the Bihar SIR, clarified that the publication of the final electoral rolls will not, by itself, prevent judicial scrutiny if any illegality is found. “How does it make a difference to us? If we are satisfied that there is an illegality committed…,” Justice Surya Kant, presiding over a Bench also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi, told petitioners.Advocate Prashant Bhushan, appearing for NGO Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR), had urged the Bench to expedite the next hearing, noting that the final rolls were to be published on September 30.That assurance apart, judicial intervention during an ongoing election process remains extremely rare. The principle has been reiterated in multiple rulings, including a 2023 judgment related to elections to the Ladakh Autonomous Hill Development Council, where a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Ahsanuddin Amanullah observed that courts are “duty-bound to step in” only when executive actions disturb a level playing field between candidates or parties without justification. Otherwise, they said, courts maintain a “hands-off” approach to ensure elections proceed without delay or disruption.The Bench wrote in its ruling: “The reason that the courts have usually maintained a hands-off approach is with the sole salutary objective of ensuring that the elections, which are a manifestation of the will of the people, are taken to their logical conclusion, without delay or dilution thereof.”most readThe SIR in Bihar, which began on June 24, required all 7.89 crore registered voters to submit enumeration forms by July 25 to remain enrolled. Those added to the rolls after 2003, when the last intensive revision was conducted, were asked to provide documents establishing their date and place of birth to prove eligibility, including citizenship.Following the revision, the final roll published on September 30 contained 7.42 crore electors, with 68.5 lakh names deleted and 21.53 lakh added. This is the roll on which the November elections will now be held.The legality of the EC’s June 24 order initiating the SIR is under challenge before the Supreme Court, which is likely to hear detailed arguments on Tuesday.