The Supreme Court of India has stepped into the escalating conflict regarding the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
On Monday, a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI), seeking its response to petitions filed by MPs Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen. The petitions allege serious procedural irregularities, claiming the revision process is being conducted through "informal channels" and arbitrary classifications that could disenfranchise legitimate voters.
Unlike the standard "Special Summary Revision" (SSR) which happens annually to add new voters and delete deceased ones, the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a far more rigorous exercise involving door-to-door verification and de-novo checks. The ECI invoked SIR for West Bengal (and 11 other states) ahead of the 2026 Assembly Elections, citing the need to sanitize the rolls.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the petitioners, flagged two primary issues during the hearing, terming the procedures as highly irregular:
1. Governance by WhatsApp: The petitioners argued that the ECI and the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal are issuing critical instructions to Booth Level Officers (BLOs) via WhatsApp and other informal social media platforms.
- The Objection: These informal instructions leave no audit trail. The counsel argued that statutory authorities cannot act on "oral orders" or "forwarded messages" when the fundamental right to vote is at stake.
2. The "Logical Discrepancies" Category: The plea highlights that the ECI has introduced a new, opaque category of voters labeled as having "Logical Discrepancies."
- According to the petition, 1.32 crore voters in West Bengal have been flagged under this category.
- Notices are allegedly being issued to these voters to prove their citizenship or residency, often forcing senior citizens and persons with disabilities (PwDs) to appear physically for hearings.
- The petitioners claim this category has no basis in the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and is being used as a tool for arbitrary deletion of voters.
3. Discriminatory "Micro-Observers": The plea also points out that Micro-Observers—officials usually deployed only during active polling—have been deployed for the roll revision process exclusively in West Bengal, raising fears of targeted and discriminatory scrutiny.
The Supreme Court Bench took note of these submissions and directed the Election Commission of India to file its counter-affidavit within one week.
"Very weird procedures are being followed in West Bengal... some WhatsApp messages are being sent... on the basis of that, the authorities are acting without written orders," the counsel submitted during the hearing.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on Monday, January 19, 2026.
With the West Bengal Assembly Elections on the horizon, the integrity of the electoral roll is the first and most crucial battleground. The Supreme Court's intervention ensures that the ECI's administrative discretion remains subject to judicial review, especially when new technological methods (like algorithm-based "logical discrepancies" or informal digital instructions) interact with democratic rights.