Supreme Court Sets Deadline for Bengal Electoral Roll Verification Documents

The direction was issued on Wednesday by the Supreme Court, which instructed officials to hand over the remaining documents by 5 p.m. on February 26 to the judicial officers supervising the SIR process.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant clarified that a Madhyamik (Class 10) admit card may be accepted along with the pass certificate for verification purposes.

The bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, issued further clarifications in continuation of its detailed order passed on Tuesday, after the matter was mentioned by senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, appearing for the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The apex court directed that all documents referred to in paragraph 3(iii) of the February 24 order -- which were received on or before February 14 but remain unuploaded -- must be submitted to the presiding judicial officers without delay.

"In continuation of the order dated 24.02.2026, it is further clarified/directed that all the documents mentioned in para 3(iii) of the order dated 24.02.2026, which were not uploaded so far and which were received on or before 14.02.2026, shall be submitted/handed over to the Presiding Judicial Officers by the concerned EROs/AEROs by tomorrow, i.e., 26.02.2026, upto 5.00 P.M.," the CJI-led Bench directed.

Clarifying the scope of documents that may be relied upon for verification of voters falling under the "logical discrepancy/unmapped category", the order stated: "Para 3(iii)(c) of the order dated 24.02.2026 is further clarified to the effect that Madhyamik (Class-10) Admit Card may be taken along with the Madhyamik Pass Certificate for the purpose of verifying the date of birth and parentage of the candidate."

The latest directions come a day after the apex court, invoking its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, permitted the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to draw additional judicial officers, including Civil Judges (Senior Division) and Civil Judges (Junior Division) with at least three years' experience, to expedite adjudication of nearly 50 lakh claims and objections arising from the SIR exercise.

The Supreme Court also allowed the Calcutta High Court to seek assistance from the High Courts of Jharkhand and Orissa, clarifying that while the last date for publication of the final electoral roll remains February 28, the ECI may issue supplementary lists if verification of all cases is not completed by then.

It further declared that voters included in subsequent supplementary lists "shall be deemed to have been part of the final list published on 28.02.2026".

- IANS