Bengal SIR: The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission of India to prepare an additional revised electoral roll that will include voters whose appeals against the erasure of their names are accepted by the Appellate Tribunals before the specified cut-off dates, thereby enabling them to vote in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections.
The court said that those voters whose appeals were approved before April 21 (for the first phase) and April 27 (for the second phase) must be added to the supplementary lists to cast their votes on April 23 and April 29 respectively, the Live Law report said.
“Therefore, we invoke our powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India and direct the ECI that wherever the Appellate Tribunals are in a position to decide the appeals by 21/04/2026 or 27/04/2026, as the case may be, such appellate orders should be given effect by revising the electoral amendment to the ballot with necessary consequences. follow,” said a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, according to a Live Law report.
what is it about
The Supreme Court petitions were filed by persons whose names were not included in the revised electoral roll during the SIR exercise.
According to the Bar and Bench report – the petitioners have sought to have their names reinstated in the electoral roll of West Bengal pending an appeal against deletion of their names.
West Bengal Assembly Election 2026
Assembly elections in West Bengal are scheduled to be held in two phases – April 23 and April 29 – with counting of votes scheduled for May 4.
The Supreme Court’s order to allow certain voters to cast their vote was passed in the West Bengal SIR cases – which came on Monday, April 13. It was uploaded on Thursday afternoon.
What happens to pending appeals?
The Supreme Court clarified that even if someone has filed an appeal against his exclusion from the electoral roll, and the same is still pending, that person will not be “entitled to vote”.
“However, it is self-evident that the mere pendency of appeals preferred by excluded persons before appellate tribunals does not entitle them to exercise their right to vote,” ruled the Supreme Court.
