Bengal SIR: Supreme Court Allows Excluded Voters to Vote If Appeals Cleared Before Deadline

The Supreme Court of India on Thursday directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to issue supplementary electoral rolls to include voters whose appeals against deletion are allowed within specified timelines, enabling them to vote in the ongoing phases of polling in West Bengal. It said those whose appeals are decided by April 21 will be eligible to vote in the first phase on April 23, while those cleared by April 27 can vote in the second phase on April 29.

A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi invoked its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution to ensure effective implementation of appellate decisions. “We, therefore, invoke our powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India and direct the ECI that, wherever the Appellate Tribunals are able to decide the appeals by 21.04.2026 or 27.04.2026, as the case may be, such appellate orders shall be given effect to by issuing a supplementary revised electoral roll, and all necessary consequences with respect to the right to vote shall follow,” the Bench said.

The Apex Court clarified that only those whose appeals are allowed would be entitled to vote, and that merely filing an appeal would not grant voting rights. “However, it goes without saying that the mere pendency of appeals preferred by excluded persons before the Appellate Tribunals shall not entitle them to exercise their right to vote,” the Court observed.

The order came in connection with petitions related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, where several individuals had challenged the deletion of their names and sought restoration of voting rights.

During the hearing, petitioners had urged the Court to allow such individuals to vote if their appeals were successful. The ECI had earlier frozen the electoral roll for the first phase on April 9.

While the Court permitted the preparation of supplementary rolls, it declined to grant interim voting rights to individuals whose appeals are still pending. Explaining its reasoning, the Bench said allowing such relief could lead to a situation where objections against existing voters could also result in temporary disenfranchisement. “If such a scenario were to be permitted to subsist, the consequence would be that objectors may likewise seek denial of the right to vote to those individuals whose names appear in the revised electoral roll… The resultant situation would effectively recreate the very state of affairs that existed prior to the entrustment of the verification exercise,” the Court noted.

The Bench highlighted the scale of the verification process, noting that judicial officers from West Bengal, assisted by counterparts from Jharkhand and Odisha, had disposed of more than sixty lakh objections within a short time. It also recorded that over thirty-four lakh appeals have been filed before Appellate Tribunals, covering both wrongful exclusion and inclusion claims.

Commending the effort, the Court described the exercise as a “truly herculean task” carried out under challenging circumstances. Disposing of one of the petitions, the Court observed that concerns raised by petitioners were premature, given that an effective appellate mechanism is already in place. It reiterated that once an appeal is allowed, the necessary consequences, including restoration of voting rights, would follow. The Court has listed the main batch of matters related to the SIR process for further hearing on April 24, 2026.