Voter List Update and Legal Developments in West Bengal

PTI, KOLKATA, March 24, 2026 : The Election Commission (EC) is yet to disclose the number of voters whose names have been included or deleted following the SIR adjudication process in poll-bound West Bengal, even as it has published the first supplementary list.

The booth-wise first supplementary voters' list was uploaded on the EC's website around midnight.

Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Agarwal on Tuesday said that even he would not be able to provide clarity on the figures at this stage. "I do not have any figures at the moment and cannot say how many names have been deleted. The process is still underway," he said.

Around 60 lakh names were marked as "under adjudication" in the final voters' list published on February 28. Following this, 705 judicial officers were engaged to determine whether these names would be retained or deleted from the electoral rolls, in line with Supreme Court directions. The supplementary list contains the names of those voters whose cases have been adjudicated by these judicial officers.

Agarwal had said on Monday evening that around 29 lakh names had been adjudicated so far. An official in the CEO's office said the total number of voters whose names have been included or deleted in the first supplementary list will be released soon. More lists will be published as the adjudication process progresses, he said.

Voters have been asked to check their status by downloading booth-level lists, though many reported difficulties in accessing the data. Voters whose names have been deleted will have the option to appeal before designated tribunals within 15 days.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court on Tuesday asked litigants, including Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, to approach the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court with their grievances pertaining to the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal.

Referring to the controversy-ridden SIR process in West Bengal, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the exercise had been conducted smoothly across the country except this state.

"There is hardly any litigation (in other states) now. I think there are states where after the SIR, the (exclusion) rate is higher," the CJI said.

Hearing a batch of petitions, the bench said several issues raised were administrative in nature and should be addressed by the Calcutta High Court. Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the Chief Minister, referred to the court's March 10 order that had laid down a framework for handling claims and objections arising from the revision process.