West Bengal SIR | Supreme Court defers roll-related concerns to Calcutta HC

State pushes back as timeline concerns raised

During the hearing, CJI Surya Kant referred to an article and remarked that, except West Bengal, the SIR had taken place smoothly across other States. Senior Advocate Kalyan Banerjee disputed this, pointing to features unique to the state, including the publication of a “logical discrepancy” list and late-night administrative actions. CJI Surya Kant responded that issues had arisen in other states as well and noted that in some places voter numbers had increased after the exercise.

Senior Advocate Shyam Divan submitted that given the election timeline, electoral rolls must be frozen seven days before polling. He submitted that 14 candidates remain under adjudication. This would affect their ability to file nominations. The Court did not intervene, with CJI Surya Kant observing that most of the issues can be addressed within the existing framework

Concerns over supplementary rolls and access

Divan submitted that 27 lakh cases have already been disposed of by judicial officers. Banerjee argued that although a supplementary list was published, the complete list was not made available. He requested that soft copies be provided to political parties.

Justice Bagchi described the issues around publication and access as logistical, while also referring to the scale of the exercise. The CJI reiterated that responsibility for these aspects has been placed on the Chief Justice of the High Court and asked parties to approach that forum.

Court suggests phasing exercise

Senior Advocate D.S. Naidu, for the Election Commission of India (ECI), submitted that supplementary lists can be published daily and that a proposal has already been placed before the High Court. He said the exercise is “humongous” and acknowledged certain shortcomings.

Justice Bagchi suggested that constituencies going to polls earlier may be prioritised so that verification is completed before nomination deadlines. He also asked that ECI assist the High Court in phasing the remaining work.

Bench flags pressure on judicial officers

The Bench also noted the scale of the ongoing exercise. CJI Surya Kant observed that more than 2 lakh objections are being decided and that judicial officers have not taken a break. Justice Bagchi referred to the pressure of completing a large number of cases within a limited timeframe and said the focus must remain on ensuring that the right to vote is exercised.

Reiterating its earlier directions, the Court said that issues relating to publication of rolls, access and implementation should be placed before the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, who is already supervising the process.

The matter will be heard next on 1 April.