Allegations of mass voter deletion in West Bengal highly exaggerated, EC tells SC

The Election Commission has denied the allegation of large-scale disenfranchisement of voters in West Bengal due to the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls, terming it as “highly exaggerated” and amplified to serve “vested political interests.”

In an affidavit filed in the top court, the poll panel asserted that the SIR exercise was essential for ensuring purity and integrity of electoral rolls—a constitutional requirement recognised by the Supreme Court in the 1995 TN Seshan versus Union of India case.

The EC said that 99.77 percent of existing electors have been supplied with pre-filled enumeration forms and 70.14 per cent of filled-in forms have been received back. These numbers demonstrated that the petitioner’s allegations regarding errors in implementation, under-inclusiveness and mass disenfranchisement were “highly exaggerated.”

It asserted that no name can be removed without following the procedure laid down in law and that the SIR guidelines themselves contain safeguards to ensure inclusiveness.

The affidavit has been filed in response to a PIL by TMC MP Dola Sen challenging the validity of the SIR orders issued by the poll panel on 24 June and 27 October 2025.

The EC said that the SIR was a routine, constitutionally grounded process carried out to maintain the accuracy of electoral rolls. It said the SIR was authorised under Article 324 of the Constitution and Sections 15, 21 and 23 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which permitted special revisions of electoral rolls whenever required.

Nationwide revisions of electoral rolls took place repeatedly since the 1950s, including those in 1962–66, 1983–87, 1992, 1993, 2002 and 2004, the EC told the top court.

Rejecting Sen’s allegation that the SIR was arbitrary, unconstitutional and risked invalid deletion of genuine electors, the poll panel denied her allegations “in totality”, except where specifically admitted.

Regarding Booth Level Officers (BLOs), the EC said they were required to visit each household, deliver forms and collect them after repeated attempts if doors are found locked. Under the 27 October Phase-II SIR order, BLOs are prohibited from collecting documents from voters during enumeration. Electors who are temporarily away from home may have their forms submitted by family members or may file them online through the ECI portal or mobile app.

Meanwhile, an NGO on Monday moved the Supreme Court raising concerns that Hindu, Buddhist and Christian migrants eligible to be deemed as being Indian citizens under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA) who faced the risk of non-inclusion in the voters’ list in the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in West Bengal.

A Bench led by CJI Surya Kant agreed to hear the matter along with connected cases on December 9.

Earlier, the Bench had chosen not to stay the SIR in Bihar which has since been completed and assembly elections were held in the state earlier this month. However, the constitutional challenge to the SIR exercise in Bihar has yet to be decided.

On October 27, the Election Commission announced the conduct of the second phase of the SIR exercise in 12 states and Union territories between November 2025 and February 2026.

The 12 states and union territories where SIR exercise is being conducted are: Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal.

Tamil Nadu, Puducherry, Kerala and West Bengal are scheduled to go to polls in 2026. Assam, where polls are also due in 2026, SIR of the electoral rolls will be announced separately.

The second phase of the SIR exercise began on November 4 and will continue till December 4. The EC will release the draft electoral rolls on December 9 and the final electoral rolls will be published on February 7.