Supreme Court stalls decision on voter‑roll check, TMC MP pushes for fresh West Bengal polls

Supreme Court has not issued a final ruling on whether the Election Commission can use the "logical discrepancy" category during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists, a gap that TMC lawmaker Abhishek Banerjee says undermines the legitimacy of the current West Bengal government. Banerjee, the Diamond Harbour MP, urged the apex court to undo the BJP‑led administration and order new elections within six months, arguing that any government formed on a flawed roll should be treated as temporary. The observation came from a three‑judge bench – Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V. Mohana – which noted that its earlier permission for the SIR in West Bengal was only provisional. The court also clarified that its ruling on a similar SIR case in Bihar did not settle every question the process raises. Senior advocate D.S. Naidu, appearing for the Election Commission, told the judges that the tribunal had examined every step of the SIR and confirmed its overall validity. Justice Bagchi reiterated that the Bihar decision was not a conclusive verdict on the logical‑discrepancy method and that the West Bengal arrangement remains under review. Banerjee posted on social media that without a full court decision, the present state cabinet remains an interim setup, and he called for the reinstatement of all voters wrongly left off the rolls.

Context

The SIR exercise is meant to clean up electoral rolls before elections, but the use of new categories like logical discrepancy has sparked legal challenges. The Supreme Court’s pending verdict will affect how voter lists are prepared for upcoming state polls.