All posts tagged: West Bengal SIR

Fate of 8 lakh voters to be revealed| India News

Fate of 8 lakh voters to be revealed| India News

Published by Parlour News

A final supplementary list of all remaining voters under review as part of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal will be published tonight, the Election Commission has told the Supreme Court. The number of such voters remaining under adjudication is around 8 lakh. An electoral officer demonstrates the functioning of voting machines during a training programme for officials ahead of the West Bengal assembly elections scheduled for April 23. (PTI) Those whose names do not appear in the supplementary list will now have to approach tribunals for redressal. However, uncertainty remains over when the tribunals will begin functioning. After the EC published its eighth supplementary list on April 3, it said has disposed of around 52 lakh cases under adjudication. Work for the remaining nearly 8 lakh applicants was in progress and was expected to be completed within the next four days, an EC official had said, essentially meaning April 7. Voting day nears Over 60 lakh names were under scrutiny after the final draft rolls were published. The adjudication is …

West Bengal SIR hearing: Pendency in courts rising in State because judicial officers were diverted for SIR, says CJI

West Bengal SIR hearing: Pendency in courts rising in State because judicial officers were diverted for SIR, says CJI

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Peculiar circumstances of ‘logical discrepancy’ in West Bengal call for impartial verification of objections: Justice Bagchi Justice Joyamalya Bagchi says that the peculiar circumstances of ‘logical discrepancy’ in West Bengal call for an impartial verification of objections. “Those who have cleared would be in the supplementary list. The others can file an appeal in the appellate tribunal, and we do not want to compress the appeal hearing. The hearing should be held in full in the appellate tribunals.” The Bench was responding to senior advocate Kapil Sibal’s oral plea for some “interim relief” for people excluded, though they were mapped. Senior Advocate D.S. Naidu, appearing for the Election Commission of India, says those who have been excluded have failed to convince the judicial officers Advocate Shyam Divan asks how supplementary lists can be frozen without hearing the appeals. Senior Kalyan Banerjee says those who have been cleared by the tribunals before the polling phases of the Assembly elections should be included in the voter list.  Mr. Divan says some supplementary lists would be necessary if …

SC slams ‘complete failure’ of West Bengal administration, orders central forces| India News

SC slams ‘complete failure’ of West Bengal administration, orders central forces| India News

Published by Parlour News

The Supreme Court on Thursday deprecated the “complete failure of civil and police administration” in West Bengal, taking suo motu cognisance of the hostage-taking of seven judicial officers in Malda district and describing it as a “deplorable” and “calculated, well-planned” attempt to browbeat the judiciary and challenge the authority of the apex court. Supreme Court of India. (PTI) A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi moved swiftly to secure the ongoing special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, directing the Election Commission of India (ECI) to immediately requisition and deploy central forces at all places where judicial officers are adjudicating voter objections. The court also asked the ECI to hand over the probe into the April 1 incident to either the CBI or the NIA, while issuing notices to the chief secretary, director general of police, home secretary and district officials of West Bengal to explain why contempt proceedings should not be initiated against them. Posting the matter for April 6, the bench directed the …

Exclusion from rolls doesn’t repeal voting rights forever, says Supreme Court

Exclusion from rolls doesn’t repeal voting rights forever, says Supreme Court

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The CJI said the High Court Chief Justice has informed that around 1.75 lakh to 2 lakh objections are being dealt with everyday. File photo for representational purposes only. | Photo Credit: The Hindu The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday (April 1, 2026) said the rights of West Bengal voters purged from the electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), and unable to make it to any of the supplementary lists ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled in April, cannot be “washed away forever”. A three judge Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant made the observation in the context of 19 tribunals constituted by the Election Commission of India to hear appeals of persons excluded from the electoral roll. The appellate tribunals, notified by the EC on April 20, are presided over by former Chief Justices and judges of High Courts. Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the adjudication and appellate processes of the SIR exercise must be taken to its logical conclusion, and anything less would lead to an “extremely oppressive” …

Voters from outside Bengal being enrolled, says Mamata, slams EC

Voters from outside Bengal being enrolled, says Mamata, slams EC

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“This is not the standard expected of a constitutional authority,” West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee tells CEC Gyanesh Kumar on March 31, 2026. | Photo Credit: ANI West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday (March 31, 2026) wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar accusing the Election Commission of India of “undermining the democratic and fundamental rights of the people of Bengal”. The letter comes amid allegations made by the Trinamool Congress of voter list manipulation ahead of the Assembly elections in the State. Ms. Banerjee accused the poll body of colluding with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)to enrol outsiders as voters in Bengal. “We are now witnessing what appears to be another coordinated attempt by the BJP, in conjunction with the ECI, to interfere with the democratic rights of the people. Credible reports indicate that large numbers of Form 6 applications are being submitted by BJP agents at the houses of the Chief Electoral Officer and across several districts. These do not seem to be routine applications …

Second supplementary voter list in Bengal likely by March 27-28: EC official| India News

Second supplementary voter list in Bengal likely by March 27-28: EC official| India News

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The second supplementary list under the SIR of electoral rolls in West Bengal is likely to be published by March 27-28, a senior Election Commission official said on Thursday. The post-SIR rolls published on February 28 further brought down the number of valid voters to a little over 7.04 crore. (PTI) Around 36 lakh voter entries from the pending list have been disposed of so far, forming the basis for the release of the second supplementary list, the official in the Chief Electoral Officer’s office said. “By Friday or Saturday evening, the second supplementary list may be released,” he said, adding that the process depends on the resolution of remaining entries received from various booths. The official said issues that surfaced during the publication of the first supplementary list still persist. “Lists that have been e-signed by courts have been uploaded. In some cases, there could be technical problems or glitches. Data from several booths is yet to be received,” he said. The revision process is being carried out in compliance with directions from the …

India’s ‘newest voters’ caught in SIR adjudication trap in West Bengal

India’s ‘newest voters’ caught in SIR adjudication trap in West Bengal

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Dinhata residents Manmohan Barman and Md. Mujjamel Khandakar are among India’s newest voters, with their citizenship recognised through an international agreement, but that has not stopped the Election Commission of India from putting them into the uncertain category of “electorate under adjudication” ahead of the West Bengal Assembly election. Mr. Barman, 66, and Mr. Khandakar, 64, are both now residents of the Dinhata Assembly constituency, in the Cooch Behar district. Just over a decade ago, however, they lived in Dasiarchara, an Indian enclave located deep within Bangladeshi territory. In July 2015, they were among 989 people scattered across 111 such Indian enclaves who chose to relocate to India after the Land Boundary Agreement (LBA) was signed, when the territory of those enclaves was absorbed into Bangladesh. At the same time, 14,854 residents of 51 Bangladeshi enclaves located within Indian territory also became Indian citizens as per the LBA. Over the past ten years of living as neighbours at a settlement for those who relocated from the enclaves, Mr. Barman and Mr. Khandakar have voted in …

Form special tribunals to hear appeals of people left out of Bengal SIR, says Supreme Court

Form special tribunals to hear appeals of people left out of Bengal SIR, says Supreme Court

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People, whose names have reportedly been left out in the post-SIR electoral rolls, wait in a queue to apply for inclusion of their names, at DM’s office, in Nadia, West Bengal. File | Photo Credit: PTI The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday (March 10, 2026) directed the constitution of special tribunals to decide on appeals against exclusions from the electoral roll during the West Bengal Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process. A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant ordered the formation of the tribunals after reasoning that the decisions of judicial officers deployed in the SIR exercise as Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) should not be subjected to appeal before any executive or administrative authority. The Supreme Court asked the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court to request former Chief Justices and judges of High Courts to preside over the Benches of the appellate tribunals once they are notified by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The EC shall pay the retired judges an honorarium and cover the entire expenses of the tribunals. …

BJP chief claims ‘over 50 lakh infiltrators’ removed from Bengal electoral rolls

BJP chief claims ‘over 50 lakh infiltrators’ removed from Bengal electoral rolls

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BJP National President Nitin Nabin. Photo Credits: X/@NitinNabin Via ANI A day after the publication of West Bengal’s post-SIR electoral rolls that saw 63.66 lakh names deleted, BJP national president Nitin Nabin on Sunday (March 1, 2026) claimed that “more than 50 lakh infiltrators” had been removed from the voter list and said “time is up for illegal immigrants” in the State. Addressing a rally in Cooch Behar while flagging off the party’s ‘Poriborton Yatra‘, Mr. Nabin alleged that those removed from the electoral rolls were “infiltrators”, who had been availing government jobs and benefits of welfare schemes meant for genuine citizens. “More than 50 lakh infiltrators have been removed from the voter list. These infiltrators were not only violating the rights of legitimate citizens but also jeopardising the security of the country,” he said. The BJP chief alleged that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had provided “protection to infiltrators by helping them obtain fake documents”. “Mamata Banerjee rushed to the courts to protect infiltrators in the voter rolls, as they are her party’s …

Calcutta HC chief justice oversees appointment of district judges for West Bengal SIR

Calcutta HC chief justice oversees appointment of district judges for West Bengal SIR

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Calcutta high court chief justice Sujoy Paul on Sunday held a two-hour meeting with top state bureaucrats and Election Commission officials as the first batch of serving and retired district judicial officers was appointed to adjudicate disputed voter claims during the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in poll-bound West Bengal, officials said. The Calcutta high court. (PTI File) “State chief secretary Nandini Chakraborty, director general of police Peeyush Pandey, Kolkata police commissioner Supratim Sarkar and the Election Commission’s (EC) special election observer Subrata Gupta were among those present at the meeting at the high court from 4pm to 6pm,” a court official said, requesting anonymity. “Around 100 serving and retired judges and additional judges from various district courts were appointed till 4pm. The others will be appointed on Tuesday,” the officer added. With West Bengal having 294 assembly constituencies, an equal number of serving and retired judicial officers are likely to be appointed to dispose of around 4.5 million disputed claims filed by voters during the SIR. These cases are to be …