The Supreme Court on Tuesday authorised the Calcutta High Court to seek assistance from civil judges and judicial officers in neighbouring Odisha and Jharkhand to expedite the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
The decision comes in view of the enormous backlog of nearly 80 lakh claims and objections related to voter records in the state.
Massive Volume of Pending Cases
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi took note of a communication from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, highlighting the scale of the challenge.
According to the letter, 250 district and additional district judges currently assigned to the SIR process would require approximately 80 days to clear the pending claims — even if each officer disposes of 250 cases daily.
Out of the total petitions, around 50 lakh claims are being handled, while nearly 80 lakh petitions involve issues such as logical discrepancies and unmapped voter records requiring detailed verification.
Court Invokes Article 142
Considering the urgency and time constraints, the Supreme Court exercised its plenary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to ensure the timely completion of the revision process.
The bench permitted the Calcutta High Court to formally request its counterparts in Jharkhand and Odisha to deploy judicial officers of similar rank to assist in handling the workload.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) will bear all expenses related to travel, boarding, and lodging of the deputed officers.
Final Electoral Roll Timeline
The court allowed the Election Commission to publish the final electoral roll on February 28 as scheduled. However, it clarified that if verification of “logical discrepancy” and “unmapped” categories remains incomplete by that date, supplementary lists may be issued on a rolling basis as pending work is finalised.
Background: Tussle Between State and EC
On February 20, the apex court had already issued what it termed an “extraordinary” direction to deploy serving and retired district judges to assist in the SIR exercise, expressing concern over the ongoing friction between the West Bengal government and the Election Commission.
The bench had observed an “unfortunate blame game” and a “trust deficit” between the poll body and the state’s democratically elected government, prompting it to issue fresh directions to ensure smooth completion of the revision.
Nature of Discrepancies
The Election Commission had categorised voters into mapped, unmapped, and those with logical discrepancies. The discrepancies include mismatched parents’ names, spelling variations, and implausible age differences — either less than 15 years or more than 50 years — between voters and their parents.
The Supreme Court also reiterated that Aadhaar cards and Madhyamik (secondary examination) admit cards would be accepted as valid identity documents, in line with its earlier ruling.
With the February 28 deadline approaching, the court’s intervention is aimed at ensuring that the electoral roll revision is completed efficiently while maintaining transparency and accuracy.
Originally published on 24×7-news.com.
