SC Orders ECI to Display Names in Bengal's 'Logical Discrepancies' Voter Row

A three-judge bench led by CJI Surya Kant issued directions to the ECI on various pleas alleging procedural illegalities in the SIR exercise in West Bengal.

The apex court noted that the ECI has issued notices to certain persons described as falling under the category of 'logical discrepancies'. Thus, with a view to enabling persons included in the category, the Court issued a direction to display the names of such persons at Gram Panchayat Bhavans, Block Offices, and Ward Offices.

The court asked the state government to provide adequate manpower to the ECI and the State Election Commission to entertain the documents and objections and to adhere to the hearing process for persons likely to be affected. In this regard, directions shall be issued by the ECI/State Government for the deployment of adequate personnel.

Persons likely to be affected shall be permitted to submit their documents before the authorised officers. The apex court instructed that an authority letter be issued in this regard. The bench instructed the persons in the category who have not submitted their claims and objections to do so within 10 days.

According to the directions issued by the court, notices for the submission of documents or objections may be submitted at the Gram Panchayat Bhavans. The Election Commission of India shall issue necessary instructions for facilitating the submission of documents by all interested persons.

The Director General of Police (DGP) of West Bengal has been asked to ensure that there is no law and order issue and that the entire exercise is completed smoothly.

The court stated that wherever the objection is found to be satisfactory, such persons shall be given an opportunity of hearing in accordance with the procedure already prescribed by the ECI in its Standard Operating Procedure. The hearing may be conducted at the time of submission of the objection itself.

The Electoral Roll Officers' Network (ERONET) portal had flagged more than 1.2 crore names under the 'logical discrepancy' category, which had sparked a fresh row over the SIR exercise in the state.

West Bengal Chief Minister and TMC leader Mamata Banerjee had termed 'logical discrepancies' a "dubious category." Accusing the ECI of working on the behest of the BJP, Mamata had said, "Acting at the behest of the BJP, ECI carried out SIR in Bengal in a reckless and ill-planned manner, resulting in the deletion of nearly 58 lakh names from the electoral rolls. When even this massive purge failed to satisfy the BJP's political objectives, a new and dubious category called 'logical discrepancies' was invented, forcing 1.36 crore voters to face hearings without the Commission even disclosing the complete list of names."

Even in Nobel laureate Amartya Sen's case, the ERONET portal flagged a "logical discrepancy". The West Bengal CEO said that the age difference between Professor Sen, a voter in West Bengal's Birbhum district's Bolpur assembly constituency, and his mother, Amita Sen, was less than 15 years.

The deadline to file claims and objections (new voter name additions via Form 6, deletions via Form 7, and corrections via Form 8) was extended from January 15 to January 19, 2026, giving voters extra time to submit their applications. Hearings on these claims and objections will continue up to February 7, 2026.

The Final electoral roll for West Bengal will be published on February 14, 2026.

- ANI