NEW DELHI, May 11 — The Supreme Court has invited fresh legal applications from the Trinamool Congress following claims that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls skewed the results of the 2026 West Bengal assembly elections. During a hearing on Monday, the court maintained that while it is monitoring the revision process, specific claims about its impact on seat-wise victories must be filed independently.
The TMC, represented by senior counsel Kalyan Banerjee, asserted that the number of deleted voters far exceeded the margin of victory in dozens of constituencies. He stated that the gap between the two major parties stood at roughly 32 lakh votes, while a similar number of appeals regarding voter eligibility remain unresolved before appellate tribunals.
“Whatever you want to say about results which may have been materially affected… that requires an independent Interlocutory Application,” Justice Joymalya Bagchi declared during the proceedings. He asserted that the court would examine the matter once formal petitions are submitted by the affected parties.
The Election Commission maintained its stance that the SIR was a necessary corrective measure and that the proper venue for outcome disputes is an election petition. Officials stated that the poll body has followed the court’s earlier directives to ensure that successful appellants had their names restored before the polling dates.
Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy expressed concern over the slow pace of the appellate process, noting that it could potentially take four years to address all 35 lakh pending cases. The Chief Justice affirmed the need for a faster resolution to ensure that the “trust deficit” between the political parties and the electoral process is addressed.
The bench affirmed that the right of the common voter remains the court’s central concern. It stated that the next steps would be determined once the new applications outlining the specific impact on the 31 identified seats are brought on record.
