West Bengal SIR crippled by threats, violence; 2025 electoral rolls questionable: ECI to Supreme Court

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has told the Supreme Court that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal has been marred by violence, intimidation and sustained political interference, creating conditions in which election officials are unable to discharge their statutory duties [Sanatani Sangsad & Anr v. Election Commission of India]..In an affidavit, the poll body has alleged that while the enumeration phase of the SIR proceeded “seamlessly and without incident” in other States, West Bengal saw numerous occurrences of violence, intimidation and obstruction against election officials involved in the exercise.Further, the ECI has also claimed that the sanctity of 2025 electoral rolls is questionable since more than 58 lakh absent, dead and shifted voters have been identified in the current SIR and about 1.51 crore notices are being issued by electoral registration officers. Hence, the same cannot be used for upcoming assembly polls, it has been contended.Solicitor General Tushar Mehta had earlier told the Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi that the ECI's counter affidavit would also be relevant in the case filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, since it brings on record allegations of hostility, intimidation and violence faced by election officials in the State..The affidavit filed through Advocate on Record Prateek Kumar records a “pervasive reluctance” on the part of local police authorities to register cases on complaints made by booth level officers (BLOs), with first information reports (FIRs) being registered in some cases only after intervention by district election officers and arrests following much later. The Commission has stated that despite formal communications and inquiries, the State willfully neglected to comply with ECI directions on registration of FIRs and disciplinary action..One of the most serious incidents cited by the ECI is the gherao of the office of the Chief Electoral Officer in Kolkata on November 24, 2025. According to the affidavit, protestors attempted forcible entry, broke police barricades, vandalised the office, obstructed officials, locked the premises from outside and prevented officers from entering and leaving, causing “serious hindrance” to official work.Despite a letter from the ECI to the Commissioner of Police of Kolkata over the security breach, the demonstrators were not removed and they remained encamped in the premises for an extended duration of 28 hours, it has been alleged.The affidavit further records that no FIR has been filed concerning the gherao incident and none of the protestors have been apprehended, despite the commission of cognizable offences..The Commission has also pointed out that the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal is the only electoral official in the country who has been granted ‘Y’ category security, following a threat assessment by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs.The affidavit has also highlighted instances in Hooghly and South 24 Parganas districts..The affidavit underlines what it describes as overt political threats against election officials. These include a statement by a sitting Minister that he would “break the legs of Election Commission”, an MLA warning that deletion of names during the SIR would amount to “playing with fire”, threats of physically restraining BLOs and public statements urging people to take the law into their own hands.The Election Commission has further referred to a press conference held on January 14 in which the Chief Minister is reported to have targeted election officials and identified a micro observer by name. The affidavit states that such statements have had immediate consequences on the ground since on the same day, nine micro-observers deployed in the 55-Farakka assembly constituency in Murshidabad submitted a collective letter withdrawing from SIR duties citing violent assaults and inadequate security..Despite these conditions, the BLOs collected over 7.08 crore enumeration forms, amounting to 92.40 per cent of the total, during the enumeration phase. It has stressed that the ongoing notice phase is critical to determining eligibility and correcting errors and that its completion without fear or intimidation is essential to the integrity of the electoral roll.The Commission has told the Court that in all, 2.09 crore entries in the 2025 draft electoral roll are under scrutiny..Given this, the Commission has claimed that the electoral rolls of 2025 cannot be used to conduct the upcoming assembly election as this would put the entire election and the legitimacy of the elected government under a cloud of doubt..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.