But no authority can act arbitrarily or without any good reason,” Mr. Bhushan submitted. Besides, who has empowered the ERO with the authority to determine citizenship?” Mr. Bhushan asked. He submitted that Form 6 of the Registration of Electors Rules, 1960, mandated self-assertion or self-declaration of citizenship. If somebody is asserting that I am not a citizen, I too have a right to cross examine that person or authority in court,” Mr. Bhushan argued. Advocate Vrinda Grover, also for petitioners in the Bihar SIR, submitted that the procedure of the 2025 SIR was actually a “statutory amendment done in the garb of a notification”.

Source: The Hindu January 31, 2026 01:25 UTC