West Bengal SIR: Supreme Court tells High Court that officers from Odisha and Jharkhand can also be deployed; EC will bear the expenses

The Supreme Court has issued a significant order regarding the Special Intensive Review (SIR) in West Bengal. The court stated that maintaining the sanctity of the election process is paramount. Time is short, and the work is enormous. Therefore, increasing the number of judicial officers is essential. Keeping this in mind, the Supreme Court has authorized the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to deploy additional civil judges.

The Supreme Court clarified that the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court may appoint civil judges with more than three years of experience, whether in the Senior or Junior Division, for the SIR process. If there is still a shortage of human resources, serving or retired judicial officers from the Jharkhand and Orissa High Courts may be sought. The court has asked the Chief Justices of both states to consider such requests sympathetically.

What did the Chief Justice of the High Court say?

During the hearing, it was reported that 294 district and additional district judges have been deployed for the final phase of the SIR. Despite this, this number was considered insufficient. The Chief Justice of the High Court explained that even if a judge hears 250 cases daily, the entire process could take approximately 80 days to complete. The final voter list is due to be published on February 28th. Therefore, there is a significant time crunch.

The Supreme Court gave these instructions to the Calcutta High Court:

The Chief Justice may appoint additional civil judges (senior and junior divisions) with at least three years of experience.

Additional judicial officers may be appointed as needed in addition to the already deployed district and additional district judges.

If sufficient judges are available in the state, serving or retired judicial officers from the Jharkhand and Orissa High Courts may be sought.

The Chief Justices of the Jharkhand and Orissa High Courts have been asked to consider such requests sympathetically.

The appointed judicial officers will assist in monitoring and verifying claims and objections received during the SIR process.

They have also been entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring that the entire process is completed in a timely and fair manner.

Discrepancies in Over 50 Lakh Cases

The Supreme Court stated that this emergency hearing was held because the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court had written a letter drawing attention to the enormity and complexity of the process. According to him, logical discrepancies and unmapped entries were found in over 50 lakh cases. This is a massive exercise, and completing it in a short time is challenging.

Final List on February 28

The court allowed the Election Commission to publish the final voter list on February 28, 2026. It also stated that a supplementary list can be issued by the last date of nomination. Under Article 142 of the Constitution, the court ordered that voters included in the supplementary list will also be considered part of the final list. Aadhaar cards, Class 10 admission cards, and pass certificates will be considered valid documents during verification. EROs and AEROs have also been directed to cooperate with judicial officers.

The Supreme Court also commented on the crisis of trust.

In its last hearing, the Supreme Court stated that a lack of trust between the state government and the Election Commission had led to a deadlock. Consequently, it decided to proceed with the process under the supervision of judicial officers. The court stated that the integrity of the election would be ensured by balancing the concerns of both parties.