SC Extends Deadline for West Bengal SIR; 8,505 State Officials to Report for Duty
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (February 9) extended the deadline for filing objections to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal by a week. The earlier deadline was February 14.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N.V. Anjaria further directed 8,505 West Bengal government officials to report for duty before district electoral offices by 5 pm on February 10. The court stated that the Election Commission (EC) must utilise their services as electoral registration officers (EROs) or assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs) if they are found suitable.
Those not selected for these roles may be assigned as micro-observers to assist the EROs. However, the bench emphasised that the EROs alone would take the final decision regarding the inclusion or exclusion of names from the electoral rolls.
The bench observed that the software tools used by the EC appeared "very restrictive" and failed to account for "natural differences" in Indian names. Justice Bagchi noted that common variations in Bengali households – such as "Roy" versus "Ray" or the middle name "Kumar" – were triggering notices. "The programme used by the EC has created a policy challenge without understanding ground realities," Justice Bagchi stated.
Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for chief minister Mamata Banerjee, submitted that of the 1.4 crore people flagged for "logical discrepancies," 70 lakh were summoned to explain minor name mismatches. Divan argued that the computer had become a "tyrant," leading to mass exclusions of electors who were already mapped to the 2002 rolls.
During the proceedings, senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee, representing the State, addressed objections to Banerjee’s appearance in court, stating she appeared in her capacity “as a citizen.” Meanwhile, senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for poet Joy Goswami, submitted a plea requesting that the final electoral roll not be published on the original February 14 deadline.
Countering these submissions, senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, appearing for the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer, argued that the discrepancies were merely the "tip of the iceberg." Naidu cited instances where 200 individuals were linked to a single parent and denied that notices were sent to those whose particulars synced perfectly.
The Court also directed the West Bengal Director General of Police to file a personal affidavit responding to allegations of orchestrated violence and the burning of "Form 7" objection documents at verification centres. This order followed submissions by senior advocate V.V. Giri, representing an NGO, who alleged that the State was not responding to calls for help or registering FIRs to protect EC officials.
The proceedings follow a hearing on February 4, when Banerjee became the first serving chief minister to argue personally before the apex court. At that time, Chief Justice Kant assured Banerjee that the EC could not "run away" from its constitutional commitment to ensure every genuine citizen is included in the roll.
The bench has directed that EROs must consider all documents listed in the SIR notice, in addition to those mentioned in the Supreme Court order, such as Aadhaar cards and admit cards, during the verification phase.
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