CJI miffed over petitions on Bengal SIR, orders immediate release of supplementary voter lists

The Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed strong displeasure over petitions challenging West Bengal’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, calling them “premature” and cautioning against unnecessary litigation during an ongoing voter verification exercise. Chief Justice Surya Kant observed that filing advance petitions sends a damaging signal that the state lacks trust in existing electoral and judicial mechanisms. The court advised the petitioners to withdraw the plea and warned that judicial officers conducting the large-scale verification should not be subjected to undue questioning.

During the hearing, the bench took a stern view of repeated legal challenges related to the voter list revision and indicated that further interference could attract contempt action. The Chief Justice stated that the court was monitoring the situation closely and assured that no genuine voter would be excluded from the final electoral rolls. The bench emphasized that the verification process being conducted by judicial officers is a robust mechanism and must be allowed to proceed without constant legal obstacles.

To ensure transparency and efficiency, the court directed the Election Commission and the state administration to extend full cooperation to the officials handling the process, including providing necessary digital access and login credentials. Addressing concerns over delays, the bench also ordered the immediate release of the supplementary voter list and directed the formation of a tribunal headed by a former Chief Justice to oversee the process ahead of the upcoming elections.