Electoral Roll Controversy: The Battle in West Bengal

The Supreme Court directed Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other litigants to address issues regarding the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. The court emphasized that the exercise had been conducted smoothly nationwide, except in West Bengal.

The Supreme Court advised litigants, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, to present their grievances about West Bengal's electoral roll revision to the Calcutta High Court's Chief Justice. The SIR process, controversial in West Bengal, was executed without issues elsewhere, noted the bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing the chief minister, raised concerns from the March 10 order outlining claim and objection handling. He mentioned timeline issues, asserting some candidates under review might miss nomination deadlines. Nevertheless, the bench emphasized these were administrative concerns for the Calcutta High Court to handle.

The court discussed making supplementary voter lists more accessible and considered extending electoral roll freezing timelines. Over two lakh objections are under judicial review. The March 10 Supreme Court order urged the formation of independent appellate tribunals for appeals against voter list exclusions, safeguarding process integrity.

(With inputs from agencies.)