The Supreme Court has issued a detailed set of directions to address administrative and law-and-order concerns surrounding the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. A Bench comprising the Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice N.V. Anjaria passed the order after hearing a “battery of senior counsel” representing the State of West Bengal, multiple petitioners, and the Election Commission of India (ECI).
The directions follow an assurance given earlier by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee that the State would provide adequate manpower to assist the ECI in completing the SIR exercise.
The Court has intervened amid allegations that the process was being used to mass-exclude voters through rigid documentary standards and an expanded role for micro-observers.
Senior counsel appearing for the petitioners pointed to internal instructions issued after earlier court orders, arguing that even production of Aadhaar, family registers, admit cards or birth certificates was being treated as insufficient. “The idea appears not to include, but to mass exclude,” counsel submitted, drawing attention to guidelines directing rejection of claims as a default.
Concerns were also raised that micro-observers were being given an overriding role, even where Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant EROs (AEROs) had found documents satisfactory. Refuting this, the Bench categorically clarified:
“The final decision will be taken by the ERO. The micro-observer only assists. He does not bind the ERO.”
The Bench rejected the argument that an extra layer of election authority was being created, stating that any such apprehension was misplaced.
To ensure transparency, efficiency, and adherence to statutory safeguards, the Court issued the following directions in addition to the direction issued on January 19, 2026:
1. The State Government shall ensure that all 8,505 Group B officers report to the respective District Electoral Officers (DEOs) / Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) by 5:00 pm on 10 February 2026.
2. The ECI shall have the discretion to replace existing EROs and AEROs and utilise the services of the deputed officers, subject to their suitability for quasi-judicial or semi-quasi-judicial responsibilities.
3. After a brief scrutiny of bio-data and work experience, the ECI may shortlist officers equivalent to the number of micro-observers already deployed and provide them with short-duration training to assist the EROs/AEROs.
4. The Court clarified that micro-observers and deputed State officers are not final authorities, and their role is limited to assisting the statutory decision-makers.
5. It was expressly reiterated that final decisions in the SIR process shall be taken only by the EROs, and not by micro-observers or assisting officers.
6. Given the volume of documents to be examined, the Court granted at least one additional week beyond 14 February 2026 for completion of scrutiny and decision-making.
7. Taking note of allegations by the ECI regarding burning of records and non-registration of FIRs, the Court directed the Director General of Police, West Bengal, to file a personal affidavit responding to these claims.
8. The Court held that affected persons who have received SIR notices are entitled to rely on all documents referred to by the ECI, and such material must be considered by the EROs while deciding objections.
9. EROs were directed to consider objections even if the concerned individuals do not appear for personal hearings, with liberty to verify the authenticity of documents in accordance with the law.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on 20 February 2026.
Appearances
Petitioners- Mr. V. Giri, Sr. Adv. Ms. Sanjana Saddy, AOR Mr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Prashanto Chandra Sen, Sr. Adv. Mr. Muhammad Ali Khan, Adv. Mr. Amit Bhandari, Adv. Mr. Omar Hoda, Adv. Ms. Eesha Bakshi, Adv. Mr. Uday Bhatia, Adv. Mr. Kamran Khan, Adv. Mr. Suray Kiran Singh, Adv. Mr. Aviral Jain, Adv. Ms. Aayesha Khan, Adv. Mr. Sayantan Chanda, Adv. Raj Laxmi Singh, Adv. Mr. Usman Ghani Khan, AOR Mr. Bikash Ranjan Bhattacharya, Sr. Adv. Mr. Sabyasachi Chatterjee, Adv. Mr. Akashdeep Mukherjee, Adv. Mr. Sayan Banerjee, Adv. Mr. Badrul Karim, Adv. Mr. Kiron Sk, Adv. Mr. Rishabh Ahmad Khan, Adv. Mr. Md Shah Minhajuddin, Adv. Mr. Md Adil Khan, Adv. Mr. Subhro Prokas Mukherjee, AOR Mr. Kapil Sibal, Sr. Adv. Mr. Kalyan Bandopadhyay, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shyam Divan, Sr. Adv. Mr. Debanjan Mandal, Adv. Mr. Kunal Chatterji, AOR Mr. Ayan Chakraborty, Adv. Ms. Fauzia Shakil, Adv. Mr. Shourya Dasgupta, Adv. Ms. Mahima Cholera, Adv. Ms. Aparajita Jamwal, Adv. Mr. Shaishir Divatia, Adv. Mr. Ankur Singhal, Adv. Mr. Aman Naqvi, Adv. Mr. Ashish Kumar Pandey, Adv. Mr. Kalyan Bandopadhyay, Sr. Adv. Mr. Vivek Singh, AOR Mr. Abhisek Mohanty, Adv. Mr. Kapil Sibal, Sr. Adv. Dr. Abhishek Manu Singhvi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shyam Divan, Sr. Adv. Mr. Kalyan Banerjee, Sr. Adv. Mr. Prashant Bhushan, Adv. Mr. Debanjan Mandal, Adv. Mr. Kunal Mimani, AOR Ms. Mahima Cholera, Adv. Mr. Shaurya Dasgupta, Adv. Mr. Aman Naqvi, Adv. Mr. Akshay Luthra, Adv. Mr. Saishir Divatia, Adv. Mr. Ankur Singhal, Adv. Mr. Gopal Shankarnarayanan, Sr. Adv. Mr. K. Shiva, AOR Mr. Amales Ray, Sr. Adv. Mr. Subhro Kanti Roy Chowdhury, Adv. Mr. Anindo Mukherjee, Adv. Mr. Rameshwar Prasad Goyal, AOR
Respondents- Mr. Dama Seshadri Naidu, Sr. Adv. Mr. Prateek Kumar, AOR Mr. Abhinav Thakur, Adv. Mr. Deepak Sharma, Adv. Mr. Devansh Rai, Adv. Mr. Kumar Utsav, Adv. Mr. Anamika Mishra, Adv. Dr. Menaka Guruswamy, Sr. Adv. Mr. Kunal Mimani, AOR Mr. R. Venkataramani, Attorney General Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General Mr. K.M. Nataraj, A.S.G. Mr. Vikramjeet Banarjee, A.S.G. Mr. Mukesh Kumar Maroria, AOR Mr. Madhav Sinhal, Adv. Ms. Shilpa Ohri, Adv. Mr. Aman Jha, Adv. Mr. Aman Mehta, Adv. Mr. Anuj Udupa, Adv. Mr. Udit Dediya, Adv. Mr. Kartikay Aggarwal, Adv. Mr. Raman Yadav, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Kumar Pandey, Adv. Ms. Ameyavikrama Thanvi, Adv. Mr. Chitvan Singhal, Adv. Mr. Arvind Kumar Sharma (aor), Adv. Mr. Barun Kumar Sinha, Adv. Mrs. Pratibha Sinha, Adv. Mr. Sneh Vardhan, Adv. Mr. Rakesh Mudgal, Adv. Mr. Vaibhav Singh, Adv. Mr. Anantha Narayan M.G., AOR
