Publish names of all 1.25 cr Bengal voters on ‘logical discrepancies' list: SC to EC
The Supreme Court on Monday directed the Election Commission to publish the names of all 1.25 crore voters who have been put on the “logical discrepancies” list during the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in West Bengal, which will go to poll before May.
It told the EC to display the names at gram panchayat bhavans, block offices of talukas and ward offices for the convenience of those affected during the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Logical discrepancies in progeny linking with the 2002 voter list include instances of a mismatch in the parent's name and the age difference between a voter and their parent being less than 15 years or more than 50 years.
A three-judge Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said those likely to be affected by the SIR of the electoral rolls in West Bengal should be allowed to submit their documents or objections.
Victory of Maa Mati Manush: TMC
This is a victory of 'Maa Mati Manush'... we defeated them in court today, we will trounce them during polls in April. Stay prepared, West Bengal is not UP, Bihar, MP or Gujarat. -- Abhishek Banerjee, TMC leader
Hearing petitions alleging arbitrariness and procedural irregularities in the SIR in West Bengal, the Bench directed that the office for submitting the documents and objections shall be set up within the panchayat bhavans or block offices.
“The state government shall provide adequate manpower to the State Election Commission for the deployment at the panchayat bhavans and block offices. In this regard, we direct that every district shall meticulously comply with the directions issued by the EC or the state government for the staff for smooth functioning,” the Bench said.
It directed the West Bengal Director General of Police to ensure that there was no law and order problem and that all activities were completed smoothly.
"Over one crore people have been notified. Please understand the stress people are suffering. We will issue directions where needed," the Bench said.
The Supreme Court had on January 12 asked the EC to respond to petitions filed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MPs Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen alleging arbitrariness and procedural irregularities in the ongoing SIR in West Bengal.
The poll panel has created and deployed a new category described as ‘logical discrepancies’ without any written order or guideline, to “issue/decide to issue notices to 1.36 crore electors without any statutory basis," TMC MPs had alleged.
“The EC has, in effect, substituted its formal system of statutory communication with what is being informally described at the field level as a ‘WhatsApp Commission’, wherein critical instructions, warnings and consequences of alleged non-compliance are communicated exclusively through messaging platforms,” Derek O'Brien had complained.
Taking exception to the EC issuing directions via WhatsApp instead of an official circular, the CJI on Monday said, "There is no question of running everything through WhatsApp. Circulars have to be issued.'
Noting that notices have been issued to about two crore persons for verification of documents, the Bench said notices were broadly in three categories - mapped, unmapped and logical discrepancy. Under the logical discrepancy category, father’s name mismatch, mismatch of parent age and difference in age of grandparents were noticed by authorities conducting the SIR exercise, it said. The final electoral roll is due to be published by the poll panel on February 14, 2026.
