Supreme Court extends West Bengal SIR deadline by one week, seeks DGP’s personal affidavit

Supreme Court

• West Bengal offered 8505 Group B officers for electoral roll revision duties
• State handed officer list to ECI during Supreme Court hearing
• ECI to confirm if additional officers are needed for SIR exercise

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The Supreme Court on Monday granted an additional week for completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, while making it clear that the exercise must proceed without obstruction.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant underscored the court’s position, stating, "We will remove hurdles, but we will not create any impediments in the completion of SIR. Let us be very clear about it."

The bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and NV Anjaria, said scrutiny of applications and finalisation of data would continue beyond the earlier February 14 deadline, with Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) being given one more week to complete the process.

During the hearing, the court directed that 8,555 Group B officers identified by the state government must report to their respective District Electoral Officers by 5 pm.

It further allowed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to replace EROs or Assistant EROs if they were found unsuitable. Newly inducted officials may be provided short training before assisting as micro observers, the bench said, clarifying that their role is limited to assistance and that the final decision rests with the EROs.

Addressing concerns raised about law and order, the Chief Justice referred to allegations in the ECI’s affidavit that despite complaints, no FIRs were registered in connection with the burning of objection forms. The bench directed the Director General of Police to respond. "We show cause the DGP to file his personal affidavit to explain his response to the counter affidavit by the ECI. We deem it appropriate for the DGP to explain this on his part," the CJI said.

The court also observed procedural shortcomings in communication between the state and the ECI regarding the deployment of officers. It noted that although the state had expressed readiness to provide over 8,500 officers, the detailed list was handed over only during the hearing.

Senior advocate DS Naidu, appearing for the poll body, argued that EROs discharge quasi-judicial duties and must possess adjudicatory experience. He pointed out that while around 300 Group B officers were sought, only 64 with relevant experience were provided initially.

On the issue of discrepancies in the draft roll, the court was informed that of 7.08 crore voters, 6.75 crore have been mapped, around 32 lakh remain unmapped, and 1.36 crore fall under the “logical discrepancy” category, with many discrepancies arising from minor spelling variations in surnames. The Chief Justice said the outcome of verification would be examined and remarked, "We will see after the verification how many of these notices are dropped if 80% of the cases are dropped then your argument will be the same -- that minor discrepancies are incorrect."

The bench reiterated that while genuine concerns would be addressed, the electoral revision must move forward in a timely manner. The matter will continue to be heard as the court seeks to ensure both completion of the SIR and protection against arbitrary exclusion of voters.