New Delhi: A fresh Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has been moved before the Supreme Court seeking greater transparency and procedural safeguards in the implementation of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, days after the apex court upheld the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) nationwide revision exercise.
The petition, filed by Congress leader Prasenjit Bose under Article 32 of the Constitution, does not challenge the legality of the SIR exercise itself but seeks directions to the poll body to disclose constituency-wise data relating to Forms 6 and 7 submitted, accepted and rejected during the claims and objections phase, make public the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) governing appellate tribunals, and issue simplified guidelines in Bangla, Hindi and English for electors seeking to challenge exclusions from electoral rolls.
According to the plea, more than 58 lakh electors were excluded during the enumeration phase of the SIR exercise in West Bengal, while over 9.64 lakh applications for inclusion and 99,118 applications for deletion were received during the claims and objections period.
However, only 1.82 lakh additions were reflected in the final electoral roll published on February 28, 2026, raising “serious concerns” over transparency and accountability in the electoral roll revision process.
The petition further questions the process adopted for adjudicating cases flagged as involving “logical discrepancies”, alleging that criteria such as parent-child age gaps, multiple progeny linkages and name mismatches were not contemplated under either the SIR notifications or the Representation of the People Act, 1950.
The plea also seeks disclosure of the SOP framed on April 7, 2026, by a three-member committee of former judges for uniform functioning of 19 appellate tribunals constituted in West Bengal pursuant to directions issued by the Supreme Court in the pending SIR-related proceedings.
According to the petitioner, the absence of publicly available procedures has created uncertainty regarding filing requirements, hearings, timelines and the rights of affected electors.
The petition argues that poor, rural and marginalised voters face significant hurdles in pursuing appeals without clear guidelines and legal assistance.
The plea comes days after a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI), Surya Kant, upheld the ECI’s SIR exercise, holding that the revision was traceable to Article 324 of the Constitution and Section 21(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, and was aimed at preserving the integrity and accuracy of electoral rolls.
At the same time, the apex court had clarified that while the ECI is empowered to undertake a limited enquiry into citizenship for electoral purposes, such a determination would not amount to a final declaration of citizenship and must be referred to the competent authority under the Citizenship Act, 1955 for adjudication.
The present plea contends that despite the top court upholding the broader legality of the SIR exercise, significant procedural gaps remain in its implementation, particularly in West Bengal, warranting judicial intervention to ensure transparency, accountability and protection of voters’ rights.
(IANS)
