The Supreme Court has issued a unique directive for the deployment of serving and retired judicial officers to supervise the resolution of claims and objections arising from the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. The court highlighted a lack of trust between the West Bengal government and the Election Commission of India, which had halted the SIR process.
Thousands of voters who received notices under the “logical discrepancy list” in West Bengal have already submitted supporting documents for their inclusion in the electoral rolls. The court emphasized the need for a fair adjudication of these claims given the circumstances.
To ensure fairness and completion of the revision exercise, the Supreme Court has involved the judiciary, requesting the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to assign serving and retired judicial officers to assist in the disposal and reconsideration of pending claims across districts.
The judicial officers will be supported by officials from the Election Commission of India and the West Bengal government as per the court’s order. The court has also permitted the publication of the final electoral roll by February 28 for the completed portion of the exercise, with supplementary voter lists to follow.
For the smooth progress of the SIR process, District Collectors and Superintendents of Police have been directed to provide full logistical support to the judicial officers and their teams. The West Bengal Director General of Police has been asked to submit a supplementary affidavit detailing actions taken on complaints of threats and intimidation faced by officials involved in the SIR exercise.
