SC flags ‘stress’ triggered by SIR in Bengal

POLITY – ELECTIONS

20 JANUARY 2026

SIR in West Bengal

The special intensive revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal is causing “stress and strain” to the ordinary people of West Bengal, where approximately 1.36 crore people, almost 20% of the population, have received notices from the Election Commission to explain “logical discrepancies in their names and family backgrounds”.

Logical Discrepancies

The “logical discrepancies” include having more than six “progenies”, a mismatch in the spelling of names like ‘Ganguly’ and ‘Datta’, only a 15-year age gap between children and parents, and a difference in age with grandparents being less than 40 years.

Petitioners’ Arguments

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the petitioners who include ruling Trinamool Congress MPs, asked what was the need for the EC to know “how many progenies my parents had”.
In the ‘progenies’ category, 2.12% of the population have been issued notice… Where do all these criteria come from? This kind of profiling on a criterion which you [EC] just invented is undesirable. Where is the statutory sanction? What has the electoral roll got to do with progeny? Can it even be a relevant consideration for the EC? I believe not. Do they have a statute to back all this? I believe not. How could they act on such criteria?” Mr. Divan asked the court.
He said the EC was sending instructions on WhatsApp, submitting that “there is no transparency”.
Mr. Dwivedi said seven persons were found with 100 children, two with 50 children.
Senior advocate Kapil Sibal said EC had only 500 venues for conducting the hearing for these 1.36 crore people, when over 1,900 venues were required.
Only 27 days remain for the final publication of the electoral rolls.
Mr. Sibal submitted that Booth-Level Agents of political parties were not allowed to attend the verification hearings.
Senior advocate Kalyan Bandhopadhyay, representing the petitioners, said the EC was not accepting admit cards issued by the State school and secondary school boards as proof during verification. “These are statutory documents. There is no way the EC cannot accept them,” Justice Bagchi reacted.

Supreme Court’s stand

In a series of directions to ameliorate the sufferings of the people of the State, the court ordered that the names of persons coming under the ‘logical discrepancies’ category be displayed at gram panchayat bhavans and block offices in rural areas and ward offices in the urban centres.
The court also extended by 10 days the time for people to submit objections and records following the publication of this list.
“There is no question of running everything through WhatsApp. Instructions have to go out as circulars,” Chief Justice Kant observed.
The EC authorities have to give people receipts detailing the documents submitted before them by applicants during the verification hearing.