New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): The Supreme Court of India is set to hear a series of critical petitions on Monday, April 13, 2026, regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi will address challenges to the Election Commission’s decision to freeze the voters’ list ahead of the state assembly elections scheduled for April 23 and April 29. The poll panel finalized the rolls on April 9, effectively preventing any further additions for those whose names were deleted during the intensive revision process.
Central to the hearing is the ongoing controversy surrounding the ‘gherao’ and illegal confinement of seven judicial officers in Malda district on April 1. The apex court had previously taken suo motu cognizance of the incident, expressing grave concern over the injection of politics into the state bureaucracy. In an extraordinary move on April 6, the Bench exercised its plenary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to transfer 12 cases related to the Malda rioting to the National Investigation Agency (NIA), citing a collapse of credibility in the state’s administrative machinery.
The court has already slammed West Bengal’s top brass, including the Chief Secretary and DGP, for security lapses and directed them to tender an apology to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. To ensure transparency in the appeals process for the 60 lakh claims and objections raised during the SIR, the Supreme Court has asked the Calcutta High Court to form a three-member panel of former senior judges. This panel is tasked with framing uniform procedures for 19 tribunals that will decide the fate of voters removed from the lists, ensuring a fair legal recourse before the final phases of polling.
