Supreme Court to Overhaul West Bengal's Electoral Roll Revision

The Supreme Court has directed the deployment of current and former district judges to aid the Election Commission in resolving the controversy surrounding the election roll revision in West Bengal. The top court has taken steps to ensure the completion of the process by appointing judicial officers and addressing logical discrepancies.

The Supreme Court issued a remarkable directive on Friday, appointing serving and former district judges to support the Election Commission in the contentious overhaul of electoral rolls in West Bengal. Concerned about the 'unfortunate blame game' between the EC and the TMC-led government, Chief Justice Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi laid out comprehensive new instructions to hasten the special intensive revision (SIR) process.

The bench stipulated the involvement of judicial officers to address claims and objections listed as logical discrepancies. They urged the Calcutta High Court chief justice to allocate judicial officers and similar retired personnel, noting the state's reluctance to offer adequate grade 'A' officers for the revision task. The court permitted the EC to initially publish a draft voter list by February 28, with the option to release additional lists thereafter.

District collectors and SPs were mandated to furnish support and protection for the judicial appointees. Orders issued by these officers will hold the same weight as official court rulings. Additionally, the court called on the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice to gather key players, including the chief secretary, DGP, and an EC representative, for a meeting by Saturday. Discrepancies involve mismatched parental names or implausible age differences in progeny linking to the 2002 voter list.

(With inputs from agencies.)