A group of 65 election officers deployed on poll duty in West Bengal have approached the Supreme Court after discovering that their names were removed from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
The officers argued that they are officially on election duty and their identity cards and orders include valid EPIC numbers, yet those very entries have now been deleted from the voter list, effectively preventing them from voting in the ongoing electoral process.
Senior advocate MR Shamshad, appearing for the petitioners, told the court, “These are 65 petitioners who are on election duty. Their duty orders mention EPIC numbers. Now those numbers are deleted. Now the persons conducting elections cannot vote. This is on the face arbitrary. Many have not been given reasons.”
The petitioners said the deletion happened without proper notice or explanation, raising concerns about fairness in the revision process.
Supreme Court asks petitioners to approach tribunal
The matter came before a Supreme Court bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and others.
The bench declined to intervene directly and advised the petitioners to move the appellate tribunal instead.
Chief Justice Surya Kant said, “Make these arguments before the appellate tribunal. Let the tribunal look into it.”
Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that the appropriate forum would decide the issue, adding, “Appropriate orders will be passed by the tribunal. In this election, yes, perhaps they cannot vote. But the more valuable right to remain on the rolls shall be preserved.”
Officers say they are being denied voting rights during duty
The petitioners argued that the situation is especially unusual because those responsible for conducting elections themselves have been removed from the voter list.
Their counsel described it as arbitrary and inconsistent, saying many affected officers were not even informed of the reasons for deletion.
The court, however, maintained that the matter should be examined through the statutory appeal process under the election law framework.
Wider controversy over voter roll revision in Bengal
The case comes amid a larger political and legal controversy surrounding the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
The exercise has reportedly led to the deletion of over 90 lakh names, triggering allegations from opposition parties that the process is arbitrary and may result in disenfranchisement of eligible voters.
Authorities, however, have maintained that the revision is part of a routine verification process to clean up electoral rolls and remove duplicate or invalid entries.
