The Supreme Court, on Monday, passed a series of directions on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, noting the massive scale of the exercise involving over 60 lakh objections and claims and the deployment of more than 500 judicial officers for verification work.
Hearing the matter, the court directed the West Bengal government and the Election Commission of India (ECI) to provide full logistical support to judicial officers working as Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs). The court was informed that these officers had already handled over 10.16 lakh objections filed by persons whose names were proposed to be deleted from the electoral rolls.
The court also asked the Election Commission to provide more logistical support for the process of verifying claims and objections. The court said updated voter lists should be provided in every district of West Bengal.
Judicial officers working without holidays
The court was told that judicial officers were working extended hours, cancelling holidays and even Sundays to complete the verification process. Due to the scale of the work, around 200 judicial officers were brought in from neighbouring Odisha and Jharkhand to assist with the revision exercise.
The Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court had written to the Supreme Court highlighting the administrative burden caused by the SIR exercise, especially as more than 10 lakh objections had been filed by voters facing deletion from the rolls.
SC: Include verified names immediately
In an important direction, the Supreme Court ordered that the names of voters who have been verified should be included in the supplementary electoral list immediately. The court said the verified names should be added to the supplementary list without delay to ensure that eligible voters are not excluded.
The bench directed that the names of those verified are to be included in the supplementary list by tonight.
The court also clarified that those whose names were excluded after verification could file appeals before appellate tribunals. The bench said the appeal hearings should not be rushed and must be conducted fully.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that the peculiar circumstances and logical discrepancy in West Bengal required an impartial verification process and said those cleared would be included in the supplementary list while others could pursue appeals.
Court pendency rising due to SIR work
During the hearing, the Chief Justice of India noted that the pendency of cases in West Bengal courts had increased because many judicial officers had been diverted to electoral roll revision work. The observation highlighted the institutional impact of the massive revision exercise.
Meanwhile, the Election Commission informed the court that the disposal of objections was nearing completion. As of April 6, over 59.15 lakh objections out of more than 60 lakh filed had already been decided. However, around 26,000 objections from the first phase and another 20,000–25,000 objections from the second phase were still pending but were expected to be disposed of soon.
The top court also permitted the 88-year-old grandson of Nandalal Bose, the artist who illustrated the original Indian Constitution, to approach the Appellate Tribunal after his name was deleted from the electoral roll.
Senior Advocate Jaideep Gupta mentioned the matter, pointing out the applicant’s exclusion from the voters’ list. The bench directed the Appellate Tribunal to decide the matter expeditiously, while Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, appearing for the Election Commission of India, assured the court that the Tribunal would be provided with the necessary assistance for an early decision.
SC orders NIA probe
The hearing also dealt with incidents of violence and obstruction during the SIR process. The Centre told the court that multiple FIRs had been registered, including three cases directly involving judicial officers and several others related to road blockades and obstruction of officials on duty. A total of 24 persons have been named as accused, and call data records of over 400 persons have been sought.
Invoking its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the Supreme Court directed the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to take over the investigation into these incidents. The court said the agency could register further FIRs if it found additional aspects in the case and directed the state police to hand over all records immediately.
Case to be heard again on April 13
The Supreme Court posted the matter for further hearing on April 13 and indicated that it would continue to monitor both the electoral roll revision process and the investigation into the violence linked to it.
The court’s intervention comes at a time when the Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal has turned into a massive administrative and legal exercise involving lakhs of voters, hundreds of judicial officers, and now a central agency probe, raising significant questions about voter inclusion, due process, and the institutional burden of conducting large-scale electoral verification.
