Electoral authorities in West Bengal have been instructed by the Supreme Court to submit all pending verification documents related to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls by 5 p.m. on Thursday. The directive, issued on Wednesday, emphasized the need to hand over the remaining documents to designated judicial officers overseeing the process. The Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, clarified that a Madhyamik (Class 10) admit card could be accepted along with the pass certificate for verification purposes.
The bench, comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, provided additional clarifications following a detailed order issued on Tuesday. Senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, representing the Election Commission of India (ECI), brought up the matter. The apex court specified that all documents mentioned in the February 24 order, which were received by February 14 but remain unuploaded, must be promptly submitted to the presiding judicial officers.
Continuing from the previous order, the Supreme Court directed the concerned EROs/AEROs to hand over all documents mentioned in the order by 5 p.m. on February 26. The scope of documents acceptable for verifying voters in the “logical discrepancy/unmapped category” was also clarified. The order highlighted that a Madhyamik (Class-10) Admit Card, along with the Madhyamik Pass Certificate, could be used to verify the date of birth and parentage of the candidate.
These latest directives follow the Supreme Court’s decision to allow the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to appoint additional judicial officers to expedite the adjudication of around 50 lakh claims and objections arising from the SIR exercise. The court also permitted seeking assistance from the High Courts of Jharkhand and Orissa. While the final electoral roll’s publication deadline remains February 28, supplementary lists may be issued by the ECI if all verifications are not completed by then. Voters included in subsequent supplementary lists will be considered part of the final list published on February 28, 2026.
