The List: Who Decides Who Gets to Vote in India

On 12 August 2025, a man the Bihar draft roll had marked dead was brought before the Supreme Court of India, alive. His mistake was caught because he turned up in person. This film asks how many weren't. The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of India's voter rolls began in Bihar in June 2025 and spread across the country. By the Election Commission's own count, around 13 crore names were marked at the draft stage as dead, shifted, absent or duplicated. We follow one list from start to end: how a name gets on it, the three ways it comes off, what it takes to get it back, and who, if anyone, is allowed to check. Throughout, we separate what is documented from what is alleged, and give the Commission's own answers. Chapters 0:00 Declared dead 2:03 1. A Name 3:50 2. The Paper Test 8:11 3. Six Thousand and Eighteen 12:22 4. The Match 14:26 5. The Appeal 16:50 6. The Machine 19:09 7. Who Checks the List 21:32 8. What the Record Shows As of 14 October 2026. Court hearings in this story are ongoing; check the latest orders before relying on any figure here. Check your own entry: https://voters.eci.gov.in/ Primary records Election Commission of India orders and press notes (24 Jun 2025, 27 Jul 2025, 30 Sep 2025, 27 Oct 2025, Sep 2026, 1 Oct 2026); Supreme Court of India records of proceedings in ADR v ECI (W.P.(C) 640/2025, 14 Aug and 8 Sep 2025) and judgment of 27 May 2026; Kamal Nath v ECI (2018); Conduct of Elections (Second Amendment) Rules 2024; CEC and Other ECs Act 2023; Registration of Electors Rules 1960 (Forms 6, 7, 8); Lokniti-CSDS 2025 survey. Reporting we relied on (as cited in the film) The Telegraph, LiveLaw, Supreme Court Observer, Scroll, Newslaundry, The Indian Express, The Reporters' Collective, The Wire, Bar & Bench. Allegations are attributed in the narration; the people and institutions named deny or dispute them where stated. Footage and images Election Commission of India (YouTube: press conferences, #SaluteToBLOs films; photos via Wikimedia Commons / PIB, GODL-India) · Supreme Court of India (GODL-India) · Rahul Gandhi, YouTube (CC BY: Aland and Haryana press conferences, shown as party material) · Ajit Anjum, YouTube (short excerpt, fair dealing) · The Red Mike, YouTube (short excerpt, fair dealing) · Sansad TV · Wikimedia Commons: Suyash Dwivedi (CC BY-SA 4.0), Ramesh Lalwani (CC BY 2.0), Sidheeq (CC BY-SA 4.0), Subhashish Panigrahi (CC BY-SA 4.0), Chief Minister's Office West Bengal (CC BY 1.0), GaneshBhakt (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Pexels: Aamir Somewhere, Arthouse Studio, Ashok Kumar Shah, Bolly Clips, cottonbro studio, Dishant Babariya, Henri Mathieu-Saint-Laurent, Kaboompics, In Old News, Karan Ghadi, MART Production, Md Jahangir Alam, Nagpuri Killar, Olia Danilevich, Pavel Danilyuk, Raju Thapa · Pixabay: inoldnews, Shekharpoorna. No agency footage was used. Voter details shown on roll entries are typeset and blurred; no real voter's data is shown. Narration: AI voice (ElevenLabs). Music: ElevenLabs Music.