SC asks WB poll officers to approach tribunals on voter roll row

The Supreme Court of India declined to hear a plea by West Bengal poll officers over deleted voter names, directing them to appellate tribunals, while reaffirming that voting rights depend on successful appeals in disputes linked to electoral roll revisions

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain a plea by around 65 West Bengal election duty officers alleging deletion of their names from electoral rolls after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi, said that the petitioners should first approach the Appellate Tribunals constituted to deal with disputes arising out of the SIR process.

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The plea, filed by Md Tohidul Islam and others, contended that the petitioners — many of whom were appointed as Presiding Officers and First Polling Officers for the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 — had their names “arbitrarily and erroneously” deleted from the final electoral roll, thereby violating their constitutional right to vote under Article 326. According to the petition, the affected officials were formally deployed on election duty under the Representation of the People Act, 1951, and were entitled to cast their votes through postal ballots under Rule 18A of the Conduct of Election Rules, 1961.

However, the deletion of their names from the rolls rendered them ineligible even for this facility, leading to “complete disenfranchisement”. Despite these submissions, the apex court declined to exercise its writ jurisdiction, observing that the petitioners must first approach the Appellate Tribunals, which have already been set up to adjudicate arising out of the SIR of electoral rolls. “Make these arguments before the appellate tribunal.

Let the tribunal look into it,” the CJI-led Bench said, disposing of the matter. Earlier, the Supreme Court had clarified that persons excluded from revised electoral rolls would be entitled to vote only if their appeals are allowed by the Appellate Tribunals within the stipulated timelines, and that mere pendency of appeals would not confer voting rights.

The apex court had also directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to implement tribunal orders by issuing supplementary electoral rolls before polling. The matter forms part of a broader batch of petitions concerning the SIR in West Bengal, with the first phase of polling already conducted on April 23 and the second phase scheduled for April 29.