‘On The Face Arbitrary’: West Bengal Election Duty Officers Move SC After Names Deleted From Voter List

The Election Commission had announced the SIR of electoral rolls across the country in June 2025, starting with Bihar

The Election Commission had announced the SIR of electoral rolls across the country in June 2025, starting with Bihar (Image for representation )

A day after Phase-1 voting in the West Bengal Assembly Election, multiple officers on election duty in the state approached the Supreme Court, saying that their names were knocked out of the electoral roll as a result of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).

Advocate MR Shamshad, representing the election officers, told the court, “These are 65 petitioners who are on election duty. Their duty orders mention EPIC numbers. Now, those numbers are deleted. Now, the persons conducting elections cannot vote! This is on the face arbitrary. Many not given reasons”, according to Bar and Bench. 

The Supreme Court bench, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, urged the petitioners to appeal before the appellate tribunal. “Make these arguments before the appellate tribunal. Let the tribunal look into it”, CJI Kant said.

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Justice Joymalya Baghchi assured the petitioners that the “right to vote shall be preserved”.

“Appropriate orders will be passed by the tribunal .. this election yes perhaps they can’t vote. The more valuable right to remain on the rolls shall be preserved”, he said, as quoted by Bar and Bench. 

Bumper Voting In Phase-1 After SIR

In West Bengal — where 152 of the total 294 Assembly seats went to polls in the first phase — the turnout was recorded 92.88 per cent, according to the official data from the Election Commission of India (ECI).

This was the first election since the Election Commission conducted the SIR exercise in the state which cut electoral rolls by 11.63 per cent, including 27.10 lakh deleted electors in limbo, whose appeals remain pending before tribunals.

The previous record high was 84.72 per cent in 2011, when TMC Supremo and Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee gained power, ending the 34-year-rule of the CPI(M).

The Election Commission had announced the SIR of electoral rolls across the country in June 2025, starting with Bihar.

As opposed to the annual and pre-election Special Summary Revision (SSR) of electoral rolls, the EC announced that it would conduct an intensive revision, where electoral rolls are prepared afresh.

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