The Supreme Court on Friday sought responses from the Election Commission of India, the West Bengal government and the state poll panel on a petition seeking detailed constituency-wise data on claims and objections filed by voters whose names were excluded during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, news agency PTI reported.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana heard a PIL filed by Prasenjit Bose, chairperson of the SIR Committee of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee. The petition seeks detailed Assembly constituency-wise information on the SIR exercise, including the number of Forms 6, 6A and 7 filed, accepted and rejected.
According to PTI, the Supreme Court sought data on appeals pending before and disposed of by tribunals constituted to hear challenges against voter exclusions.
Petition seeks greater transparency in SIR process
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayan, appearing for Bose, argued that the absence of detailed constituency-level data prevented effective scrutiny of the electoral roll revision exercise. The plea alleged that the EC has not published sufficient information on how many applications were received, accepted or rejected in individual constituencies.
It also raised concerns over the non-publication of formats prescribed under the Election Commission’s Manual on Electoral Rolls, 2024, arguing that this weakened transparency and accountability in the process.
33.5 lakh appeals reportedly pending
During the hearing, Sankaranarayan reportedly told the court that around 33.5 lakh appeals were still pending and claimed that nearly 70% of the cases disposed of resulted in the claims being allowed. He said voters whose names were deleted were facing difficulties in accessing government welfare schemes, including the public distribution system and Annapurna scheme. The lawyer also claimed that some affected voters were facing problems obtaining caste certificates.
The Supreme Court agreed to hear the fresh plea along with other pending petitions concerning the SIR exercise, including one filed by former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee. The matters are scheduled to be heard on August 25.
SC clarifies EC’s role in citizenship matters
During the hearing, the bench referred to its judgment in the Bihar SIR case and stressed the distinction between electoral roll management and determination of citizenship. The court said that where a tribunal concludes that a person should not be included in the SIR list, the Election Commission must refer the matter to the Union government for determination of citizenship under the Citizenship Act.
“The Election Commission is not a constitutional authority concerning the determination of citizenship. There is no confusion in law. The Election Commission has control and superintendence over the electoral roll,” the bench observed.
Over 58 lakh electors excluded during enumeration
The petition claimed that more than 58 lakh electors were excluded during the enumeration phase of the West Bengal SIR exercise. During the claims and objections period, the petitioner said, 9.64 lakh applications for inclusion through Forms 6 and 6A and more than 99,000 applications for deletion through Form 7 were received.
However, only around 1.82 lakh names were ultimately added to the final electoral roll published on February 28, according to the plea.
The petitioner argued that the absence of constituency-wise data makes it difficult to independently assess the implementation of the exercise across the state.
PIL challenges ‘logical discrepancy’ cases
The petition also questioned the process used to identify more than 60 lakh cases of “logical discrepancy”.
It alleges that factors such as parent-child age differences, multiple family linkages and mismatches in names were used to issue notices and initiate deletions without adequate legal or procedural clarity. The petitioner sought disclosure of the criteria and methodology used to identify such cases.
Plea seeks publication of tribunal SOP
The PIL further raised concerns over the functioning of the 18 appellate tribunals set up to hear appeals arising from the SIR exercise. According to the petition, a three-member judicial committee prepared a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) on April 7, but the document has not been made public.
The plea seeks directions for publication of the SOP and the preparation of simplified appeal guidelines in Bangla, Hindi and English.
It argued that many excluded voters are poor, illiterate or otherwise unable to navigate the appeals process without legal assistance, and that the lack of procedural clarity could disproportionately affect marginalised sections.