By Kavitha Iyer
Mumbai: Days before the deadline to finalise electoral rolls for the West Bengal legislative assembly elections on 23 and 29 April 2026, the Supreme Court on 6 April 2026 allowed the Election Commission of India to stop 2 million people from casting their vote.
Told by senior counsel Shyam Divan that 2 million voters among the 6 million placed ‘under adjudication’ during the special intensive revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls had been rejected in adjudication and would approach appellate tribunals, the court rejected the West Bengal state government’s plea to wait a few more days before freezing the electoral roll.
“The appellate tribunals would formulate their own procedure based on the principles of natural justice, and a final order would be delivered,” the apex court said. “That may, however, take a month or 60 days… How can the tribunals work when so much pressure is put on them?”
Divan, appearing for the state government, had contended that the appellate process is a part of the adjudication, and electors would be disenfranchised if they were left out of the electoral rolls pending the appeals process.
The outcome marks the end of a rushed voter rolls revision marked by opaque processes and a blurring of institutional roles between the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the judiciary.
When the SIR concluded on 20 February 2026, 6 million electors’ names were marked as “under adjudication,” with their eligibility to vote uncertain. As the rapid adjudication process continued on 1, 2 and 3 April, protests broke out over the deletion of names from electoral rolls through the SIR and the subsequent adjudication.
This story was originally published in article-14.com. Read the full story here.