Image is for representational purposes only. File | Photo credit: The Hindu
Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Sujoy Paul has set up a committee to oversee interim measures to shift urgent cases to alternative courts after involving judicial officials in the work related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
The development comes in the wake of the Supreme Court’s February 20 order, in which the top court directed that judicial officers be deputed to complete the ongoing SIR in West Bengal. The monitoring committee pointed out that the lingering “lack of trust” between the state government led by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Election Commission of India (EC) had led to a “stalemate” with time running out.
The committee appointed by Chief Justice Paul comprises Justices Tapabrata Chakraborty and Arijit Banerjee, Registrar General Nabanita Ray, Registrar (Judicial Service) Raju Mukherjee and Joint Registrar Chief Justice Ajay Kumar Das.
In a separate notification, the Chief Justice of the Calcutta HC constituted a committee for each district “for smooth compliance of the order of the Supreme Court with the following members”, comprising the District Magistrate, the District Magistrate and the Superintendent of Police.
On Sunday (February 22, 2026), Chief Justice Paul met the state’s Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal, Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty, Director General of Police Piyush Pandey, Kolkata Police Commissioner Supratim Sarkar and other officials representing the Union of India.
It has been decided that the court officials will start the process of finalizing the SIR from Monday (February 23, 2026). The Supreme Court also ordered the EC on February 20 to publish the processed voter list on February 28.
The schedule for the West Bengal Assembly elections cannot be announced until the electoral rolls are finalized. The EC has decided to deploy 480 companies of the central armed forces in the state by March 10. The first 240 companies will be deployed by March 1.
Published – 22 February 2026 22:10 IST
