Supreme Court Allows Eligible Bengal Voters Cleared by Tribunals to Vote Before Cut-Off Dates

PTI, April 16, 2026, New Delhi: In a relief for thousands of voters as well as the political parties, ahead of the two-phase high voltage Assembly elections in West Bengal, the Supreme Court of India has ruled that individuals whose names are cleared by Appellate Tribunals during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise will be eligible to vote, provided their appeals are decided by specific cut-off dates.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi has directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to issue supplementary electoral rolls to bring these changes into effect.

The apex court has set the cut-off dates as April 21 (for the first phase of polling on April 23) and April 27 (for the second phase on April 29).

The Supreme Court bench, in its order dated April 13, which was made available Thursday, invoked its powers under Article 142, said: “Wherever the Appellate Tribunals are able to decide the appeals by 21.04.2026 or 27.04.2026, as the case may be, such appellate orders shall be given effect to by issuing a supplementary revised electoral roll, and all necessary consequences with respect to the right to vote shall follow.”

The bench, however, made it clear that “the mere pendency of appeals preferred by excluded persons before the Appellate Tribunals shall not entitle them to exercise their right to vote”.

The bench said: “If such a scenario were to be permitted to subsist, the consequence would be that objectors may likewise seek denial of the right to vote to those individuals whose names appear in the revised electoral roll, but against whom such objectors have preferred appeals.”