Supreme Court: In the bunch of writ petitions raising issues concerning the ongoing West Bengal Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being undertaken by the Election Commission of India (ECI), a 3-Judges Bench of Surya Kant, CJ., Dipankar Datta and Joymalya Bagchi, JJ., issued directions, thereby, protecting the rights of voters falling within the logical discrepancy category.
During the course of the SIR, approximately 1.40 crore individuals were issued notices for document verification. These noticees were classified into three broad categories, Mapped Voters — voters linked with the 2002 SIR; Unmapped Voters — voters not linked with the 2002 SIR and Logical Discrepancy Category — constituting approximately 1.36 crore voters.
The category of “logical discrepancies” included cases involving mismatch of father’s name, mismatch of parents’ ages, difference in parents’ ages of more than 50 years, difference in grandparents’ ages of less than 40 years, and voters shown as having more than six progenies.
The Court noted that an exceptionally large number of voters—approximately 1.36 crore—had been categorised under “logical discrepancies”. In order to safeguard the rights of voters falling within the logical discrepancy category, the Court issued the following directions —
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The names of persons figuring in the logical discrepancy category shall be displayed at Gram Panchayat Bhawans, public places in every Taluka and Block Office, and Ward Offices in urban areas.
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Affected persons are permitted to submit their documents and objections through an authorised representative, including a Booth Level Agent (BLA), on the basis of a signed or thumb-marked authority letter.
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Documents and objections may be submitted at Panchayat Bhawans or Block Offices.
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The EIC shall grant an additional 10 days’ time from the date of display of the lists for submission of claims, documents and objections.
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The State Government shall provide adequate manpower to the ECI and the State Election Commission for deployment at Panchayat Bhawans and Block Offices. District Collectors were directed to ensure proper staffing and smooth functioning.
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The Director General of Police, Superintendents of Police of each district and the respective Collectors were directed to ensure that there are no law and order issues and that the entire process proceeds smoothly.
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All affected persons shall be given an opportunity of hearing, either personally or through their authorised representative, at the time of submission of documents and objections.
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The official receiving the documents and conducting the hearing shall certify the receipt of documents and the conduct of hearing.
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Permitted submission of the Madhyamik (Class X) admit card disclosing the date of birth, in addition to the Madhyamik pass certificate.
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Listed the next date of hearing on 23-02-2026.
[Mostari Banu v. ECI, Writ Petition(s)(Civil) No(s).1089/2025, Decided on 19-01-2026]
Advocates who appeared in this case:
Mr. Kapil Sibal, Sr. Adv. Mr. Kalyan Bandopadhyay, Sr. Adv. Mr. Shyam Divan, Sr. Adv. Mr. Debanjan Mandal, Adv. Mr. Kunal Chatterji, AOR Mr. Ayan Chakraborty, Adv. Ms. Fauzia Shakil, Adv. Mr. Shourya Dasgupta, Adv. Ms. Mahima Cholera, Adv. Ms. Aparajita Jamwal, Adv. Mr. Shaishir Divatia, Adv. Mr. Ankur Singhal, Adv. Mr. Kalyan Bandopadhyay, Sr. Adv. Mr. Vivek Singh, AOR Mr. Abhisek Mohanty, Adv. Mr. Sabyasachi Chatterjee, Adv. Mr. Gajendra Singh Negi, Adv. Mr. Md Shah Minhajuddin, Adv. Mr. Md Adil Khan, Adv. Mrs. Srabani Mukherjee, Adv. Mr. Rishabh Ahmad Khan, Adv. Mr. Umesh Kumar Shukla, Adv. Mr. Shekhar Banerjee, Adv. Mr. Subhro Prokas Mukherjee, AOR, Counsel for the Petitioner
Mr. Rakesh Dwivedi, Sr. Adv. Mr. Maninder Singh, Sr. Adv. Mr. Eklavya Dwivedi, AOR Mr. Prabhas Bajaj, Adv. Mr. Mohd. Yasir, Adv. Ms. Shraddha Chirania, Adv. Mr. Kunal Mimani, AOR Mr. Vikramjeet Banarjee, A.S.G. Mr. Mukesh Kumar Maroria, AOR Mr. Madhav Sinhal, Adv. Ms. Shilpa Ohri, Adv. Mr. Aman Jha, Adv. Mr. Aman Mehta, Adv. Mr. Anuj Udupa, Adv. Mr. Udit Dediya, Adv. Mr. Chitvan Singhal, Adv. Ms. Ameyavikrama Thanvi, Adv. Mr. Abhishek Kumar Pandey, Adv. Mr. Raman Yadav, Adv. Mr. Kartikay Aggarwal, Adv. Mr. A.K. Sharma, (AOR) Adv., Counsel for the Respondents