West Bengal SIR: Supreme Court says voters cleared by appellate tribunals till 2 days before polls can vote

The Supreme Court has ordered that voters in West Bengal, who are cleared by appellate tribunals for inclusion in electoral rolls at least two days before the elections, will be entitled to vote in the upcoming State Assembly elections..Polls in West Bengal are scheduled to be held in two phases - on April 23 and April 29. Hence, those who are cleared by appellate tribunals on or before April 21 or April 27, as the case maybe, will be entitled to vote in the upcoming elections.A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi passed the order in the exercise of the Court's inherent powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India.The order was passed while dealing with petitions challenging the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.The SIR has led to large-scale disputes over large scale deletion of names from electoral rolls.Conflicts between Election Commission of India (ECI) and the West Bengal government had prompted the Supreme Court to assign the SIR exercise to judicial officers from West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand.After observing that there was a trust deficit between the ECI and West Bengal government, the apex court had on February 20 ordered deployment of district judges and additional district judges, including the retired judges, for smooth conduct of the SIR.Around 900 judicial officers were then engaged for the purpose. These officers decided about 60 lakh objections and around 27 lakh stood excluded from the rolls.The Supreme Court also directed setting up appellate tribunals to consider cases of those who want to appeal against the decision of the judicial officers. Around 19 appellate tribunals are now functional and are hearing appeals against the decision of judicial officers..The Supreme Court has now made it clear that if any appeal is allowed by the appellate tribunals and a conclusive direction for the inclusion or exclusion of a person in the voter list is issued, such directions must be given effect to before the polling dates in West Bengal, that is, on April 23 and April 29, depending on the area.Accordingly, the Court directed the Election Commission of India that appellate tribunal orders passed by April 21 (where the polling is scheduled on April 23) or April 27 (for areas where polling is scheduled on April 29) must be given effect to by issuing a supplementary revised electoral roll. "We, therefore, invoke our powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India and direct the ECI that, wherever the Appellate Tribunals are able to decide the appeals by 21.04.2026 or 27.04.2026, as the case may be, such appellate orders shall be given effect to by issuing a supplementary revised electoral roll, and all necessary consequences with respect to the right to vote shall follow. However, it goes without saying that the mere pendency of appeals preferred by excluded persons before the Appellate Tribunals shall not entitle them to exercise their right to vote," the April 13 order stated. .The pleas before the Court included those by individuals whose names had been omitted from the revised electoral roll during the SIR exercise. They had filed applications seeking directions to restore their names in the electoral roll while appeals against the deletion of their names are pending. The Court, however, declined to grant such interim relief. The Court reasoned that if it were to allow those whose appeal proceedings are pending to vote, it may create a situation where those whose names have been added to the revised roll may also be obstructed from voting."The consequence would be that objectors may likewise seek denial of the right to vote to those individuals whose names appear in the revised electoral roll, but against whom such objectors have preferred appeals. The resultant situation would effectively recreate the very state of affairs that existed prior to the entrustment of the verification exercise to the Judicial Officers. This, in our considered view, cannot be permitted, particularly when Judicial Officers from the State of West Bengal, duly assisted by Judicial Officers from the States of Jharkhand and Odisha, have completed what can only be described as a truly herculean task within a remarkably short span of time," the order stated..Another direction sought was to ensure the functionality of appellate tribunals set up on the Court's orders to verify inclusions and deletions of names in the voter list once appeals are preferred. The Court observed that based on information from the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice, training sessions have been conducted for the judicial officers manning these tribunals, that a process has been finalised on how appeals are to be decided and that these bodies are now fully functional. "It is evident that all requisite training for the Members of the Appellate Tribunals stands completed and that, as on date, the Appellate Tribunals are fully functional," the Court found. In the April 13 order, the Court also noted that over 34 lakh appeals have already been filed."All such appeals are, therefore, required to be adjudicated by the Appellate Tribunals in accordance with the Standard Operating Procedure formulated by the Committee, as well as the parameters indicated in our order dated 01.04.2026," it said. .The Court also appreciated the judicial officers engaged in the SIR exercise. "We consider it necessary to place on record our acknowledgement and appreciation of the dedication and perseverance exhibited by these Judicial Officers, particularly in the face of exceptionally challenging and adverse circumstances," it said. .[Read Order]