NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court will on Monday hear the matter pertaining to the deletion of voter names from West Bengal’s electoral roll, a case with significant political ramifications ahead of the Assembly elections. The ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are locked in a direct contest in the two-phase polls scheduled for April 23 and 29.
As per the Election Commission of India (ECI) rules, the electoral roll is frozen on the last date for filing nominations for a given phase. For Phase 1 in Bengal, where 152 seats will go to polls, the nomination window closes at 3 pm on Monday, April 6.
Following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in Bengal, 58.2 lakh names were excluded during the draft stage released by the Election Commission on December 16, 2025. An additional 5,46,053 names were removed between the draft stage and final list. As of February 28, 2026, a total of 63,66,952 names have been deleted since the SIR process began in November 2025.
Another 60,06,675 voters were marked as “under adjudication”, indicating doubts over their eligibility. Of these, around 52 lakh cases had been disposed of as of April 3, 2026, while approximately 8 lakh cases remain pending.
According to EC officials, around 55% of 52 lakh disposed cases have been approved, with their names added to the electoral roll. The remaining 45% — amounting to about 23.4 lakh people — have been rejected and excluded. These individuals can file appeals, either online or offline, before appellate tribunals within 15 days of the order passed by the judicial officers.
Nineteen newly constituted appellate tribunals were to be made functional as they serve as the sole avenue for correction for those excluded from the rolls. However, as of April 6, not a single tribunal has become functional.
Today marks the final day for adjudication of appeals for voters in the 152 constituencies going to polls in the first phase on April 23. Any names approved by judicial officers or through the appeals process must be included in the supplementary lists for them to be eligible to cast vote.