New Delhi (Gurpreet Singh): The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday permitted the deployment of civil judges with at least three years of experience from Odisha and Jharkhand to expedite the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal ahead of the Assembly elections.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi expanded the scope of its earlier February 20 order, which had directed the deployment of judicial officers, including retired judges, from within West Bengal to assist in the revision exercise.
The latest direction came after the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court informed the apex court that 250 judicial officers had been assigned to decide nearly 80 lakh claims and objections arising from logical discrepancies and unmapped categories in the voter list.
The court noted the scale of the task, observing that even if each judge disposed of 250 cases daily, the process would require about 80 days to complete.
“In case further human resources are required, the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court may approach the Chief Justices of the Odisha and Jharkhand High Courts to draw serving or retired judicial officers of similar rank,” the Bench directed. It added that travel, boarding and lodging expenses of such officers would be borne by the Election Commission of India.
The discrepancies under review include issues in progeny linking with the 2002 voter list, such as mismatched parental names and age differences between voters and their parents being less than 15 years or more than 50 years.
The apex court, which had earlier allowed the poll body to publish the final electoral rolls on February 28, clarified that the Election Commission may issue supplementary lists as the verification process continues.
Invoking its plenary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the court also directed that voters verified through supplementary rolls would be included in the final list published on February 28.
Further, the Bench clarified acceptable documents for processing claims and objections. It stated that Aadhaar, as permitted in a September 8, 2025 order, and Madhyamik admit cards and certificates would be valid proof of identity. All such documents, whether uploaded electronically or submitted physically before February 14, 2026, must be considered.
Earlier, the court had expressed concern over a “trust deficit” between the West Bengal government and the Election Commission, noting that ongoing allegations and counter-allegations were hampering the SIR process.
