Kolkata: As West Bengal prepares for upcoming assembly elections, authorities are working to resolve a significant backlog of disputed voter claims. At least 294 serving and retired district judicial officers are likely to be deployed to adjudicate around 4.5 million pending cases related to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Efforts to Finalize Voter Rolls
Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, Sujoy Paul, convened a meeting with state government and Election Commission officials on Saturday to discuss the plan. A senior election panel official stated that the proposed deployment would assign one judicial officer to each of the state’s 294 assembly constituencies to expedite the process.
This move follows a request from the Supreme Court of India to Chief Justice Paul, asking him to allocate serving and retired judicial officers – in the rank of additional district judge and district judge – to review claims categorized as having “logical discrepancies.”
Timeline of the Revision Process
The SIR process began with the publication of a draft electoral roll on December 16, 2025, which resulted in the removal of approximately 5.8 million voters’ names. Subsequently, an additional 15.2 million voters were notified for hearings due to issues mapping their information to the 2002 electoral roll or discrepancies in their enumeration forms. These hearings concluded on February 14, with scrutiny continuing until February 21.
The final voter roll is scheduled for publication on February 28. Assembly elections are expected to follow in the weeks after. Election Commission officials indicated that supplementary rolls could be published even after the election dates are announced, up until the date of nomination, to include any eligible voters whose claims are successfully resolved.
To ensure compliance with the Supreme Court’s directions, Chief Justice Paul has cancelled leave for all judicial officers in West Bengal courts until March 9.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the status of the voter roll revision?
The final voter roll for West Bengal is slated to be published on February 28. Hearings concluded on February 14, and scrutiny continued until February 21.
How many voters were initially removed from the draft electoral roll?
Approximately 5.8 million voters’ names were struck off the draft electoral roll published on December 16, 2025.
What types of discrepancies led to voters being called for hearings?
Voters were called for hearings given that they either could not be mapped with the 2002 electoral roll or had logical discrepancies in their enumeration forms.
As West Bengal moves closer to elections, will the expedited review process be sufficient to address all outstanding voter claims and ensure a smooth electoral process?
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