Judicial officers will not be influenced in Bengal electoral roll revision: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday firmly told the West Bengal government not to create hurdles in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and asserted that judicial officers deployed for the exercise would not be influenced by any external directions.

The observations came after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the state government, informed a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi that the Election Commission had issued a training module for judicial officers despite the court’s earlier direction that all modalities be settled by the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and a designated committee. “Something strange has happened,” Sibal submitted, alleging that directions had been issued “behind the back” specifying what documents should or should not be accepted.

Responding sharply, Chief Justice Surya Kant said, “We can’t hear like this. There has to be an end to it.” He added, “We know our judicial officers , and they are not to be influenced by anything.” Sending a clear message to the state, the bench cautioned that it should not make excuses to stall the process and must cooperate in implementing the court’s directions. Justice Bagchi emphasized, “Our orders are as clear as daylight.”

The bench reiterated that neither the Election Commission nor the state government could go beyond the orders passed by the apex court.

The court clarified that all documents submitted on or before the cut-off date of February 14, 2026, whether filed electronically or physically, must be considered in the SIR process. Aadhaar cards may be taken into account in line with earlier directions. Madhyamik (Class 10) admit cards can also be considered, but only when accompanied by the corresponding pass certificate, and only as supplementary proof to verify date of birth and parentage. The court further directed that documents received before the cut-off date but not yet uploaded must be placed before the presiding judicial officers by the Electoral Registration Officers and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers within the stipulated timeline.

Earlier, on February 20, the Supreme Court had issued an “extraordinary” direction for the deployment of serving and retired district judges to assist in the SIR exercise. On February 24, it permitted the deployment of West Bengal civil judges in addition to 250 district judges and allowed requisitioning judicial officers from Jharkhand and Odisha to handle around 80 lakh claims and objections relating to proposed deletions from the electoral roll.