New Delhi, February 24: The Supreme Court has issued crucial directives regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process of the voter list in West Bengal. This comes amid disputes related to logical discrepancies and unregistered categories, affecting millions of applications.
Judicial officials have been appointed to address these issues. The Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court informed the Supreme Court that approximately 250 judicial officers at the district and additional district judge levels are currently engaged in this verification process, as per the earlier orders of the bench led by Chief Justice Suryakant. However, this number is proving inadequate given the volume of applications.
In response, the Supreme Court has ordered the inclusion of civil judges to expedite the process. Chief Justice Suryakant stated that if necessary, the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court may request additional judicial officers from the Chief Justices of the Jharkhand and Odisha High Courts. The court emphasized that this task must be completed on a war footing to ensure the timely preparation of the voter list.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court has stipulated that if verification of all logical discrepancies or unregistered categories is not completed by February 28, 2026, the Election Commission may issue a supplementary list after publishing the final voter list.
The court clarified that eligible voters included in the supplementary list will also be considered part of the final list to be released on February 28. This means they will be recognized as valid voters and will have the full right to vote.
The court has urged both parties to cooperate to maintain a fair and transparent electoral process. With judicial intervention, the resolution of these matters will accelerate, safeguarding the rights of millions of voters.
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