The ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal faces possible deadline extensions following the Supreme Court’s recent directives to the Election Commission of India (ECI). The apex court has instructed transparent verification of voters, particularly those with “logical discrepancies,” without causing undue hardship.
A final decision on the matter is expected on Wednesday, as per sources from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) in West Bengal. Currently, the deadline for the hearing process completion is set for February 7, with the final voters’ list publication deadline on February 14.
If the deadlines are extended, there will likely be a proportional delay in the publication of the draft voters’ list, as explained by an insider from the CEO’s office. It remains uncertain whether the extensions will apply only to West Bengal or also to other states and Union Territories conducting parallel Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercises.
West Bengal has garnered national attention due to a high number of “logical discrepancy” cases during the claims and objections hearing on the draft voters’ list. These cases involve voters with unusual family-tree data detected through “progeny mapping,” leading to around 94 lakh identified discrepancies in the state.
Officials have highlighted instances where fake voters tried to manipulate family relationships to remain on the electoral roll. For instance, cases where individuals falsely claimed relationships to genuine voters, presenting themselves as siblings within fabricated family structures. Such manipulations aim to prevent fake voters from being removed from the rolls.
