We can’t have fishing inquiry, says SC on West Bengal voters

“We can’t have a fishing inquiry,” the Supreme Court said on Monday after it was mentioned that five to seven lakhs voters have allegedly been added by the Election Commission (EC) in poll-bound West Bengal.

Senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy mentioned the matter before a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi.

Referring to media reports, Guruswamy said there was an addition of nearly five to seven lakh voters in West Bengal using Form 6.

Form 6 is for the inclusion of a name in the electoral roll for a first-time voter or on shifting from one constituency to another.

Guruswamy said the addition of voters through Form 6 is not permissible after the cut-off date and that adding so many voters would have an impact on the upcoming Assembly election in the state. “You challenge it, we will see,” the CJI said.

Guruswamy said they do not have enough information and the final electoral roll is yet to be published.

“We can’t have a fishing inquiry,” the CJI observed, adding, “We will not entertain like this.”

The apex court is already dealing with a batch of pleas related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in West Bengal.

The West Bengal Assembly polls are scheduled to be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, and the votes will be counted on May 4.

While hearing the West Bengal SIR matter last week, the apex court directed the EC to issue a supplementary revised electoral roll to include the voters whose appeals against the deletion of their names are allowed by appellate tribunals.

The court said the mere pendency of appeals preferred by the excluded persons before the appellate tribunals shall not entitle them to exercise their right to vote.

“We, therefore, invoke our powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India and direct the ECI that, wherever the appellate tribunals are able to decide the appeals by April 21, 2026, or April 27, 2026, as the case may be, such appellate orders shall be given effect to by issuing a supplementary revised electoral roll and all necessary consequences with respect to the right to vote shall follow.

“However, it goes without saying that the mere pendency of appeals preferred by excluded persons before the appellate tribunals shall not entitle them to exercise their right to vote,” the bench said in its April 13 order.

The chief justice of the Calcutta High Court has set up 19 tribunals headed by former High Court chief justices and judges to decide appeals against the deletion or exclusion of names from the voters’ list.