Supreme Court Allows Deployment of Judges for Bengal Electoral Roll Revision, ECI to Bear Costs

February 24, 2026 : The Supreme Court has allowed the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to deploy additional civil judges and seek judicial officers from neighbouring states to handle nearly 80 lakh claims and objections arising out of the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal.

A Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant took note of a communication from the Calcutta High Court stating that around 250 district judges currently engaged in the exercise would need approximately 80 days to complete the verification process. Given the tight timeline, the Court permitted the High Court to deploy more civil judges and to requisition judicial officers of equivalent rank from Jharkhand and Odisha.

The Court directed the Election Commission of India to bear the expenses involved in deploying officers from the two states. It also allowed the poll body to publish the final electoral roll on February 28, making it clear that supplementary lists can be issued as the verification process continues.

Invoking its plenary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the apex court clarified that eligible voters identified during the ongoing verification could be included through supplementary rolls, which would form part of the final electoral list.

Earlier, while expressing concern over the standoff between the West Bengal government and the Election Commission over the revision process, the Court had ordered the deployment of serving and former district judges to ensure that the exercise is completed in a timely manner.