Supreme Court Refuses Plea Against West Bengal Govt's Decision Denying Ration To SIR-Excluded

The Supreme Court has refused urgent listing of a writ petition challenging the move of the State of West Bengal to deny ration benefits to persons excluded from the voters' list after the Special Intensive Revision(SIR).

A bench comprising Justice BV Nagarathna and Justice Joymalya Bagchi declined the oral plea made by Advocate S Prasanna, saying that the High Court can be approached for the relief.

Justice Nagarathna asked Prasanna why a writ petition under Article 32 had been filed in the Supreme Court, instead of approaching the High Court. To this the counsel replied that it was a pan-India issue, as many other States are also following the West Bengal Government's step of denying welfare measures to SIR-excluded persons. The counsel also cited the Supreme Court's decision upholding the SIR process.

Last month, a CJI Surya Kant led bench, said SIR is not in conflict with the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Rules framed thereunder. "The impugned SIR does not supplant the Representation of the People Act and the Rules. Rather, it breathes life into the constitutional mandate under Article 324 within the precise statutory contours provided by Section 21(3). Therefore, it cannot be said that the Commission has acted in excess of its statutory powers," the CJI read in court.

Court has further held that the object sought to be achieved by the SIR bears a direct nexus to the constitutional goal of free and fair elections. "Free and fair elections do not rest merely upon the mechanics of polling. They fundamentally depend upon the integrity, accuracy and credibility of the electoral rolls, which form the foundation of the democratic process," the bench also comprising Justices Bagchi and Pancholi has held.

Recently, Supreme Court had also refused to act on claims made over deletion of voters in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls affecting the results in certain assembly constituencies in West Bengal. Senior Advocate Kalyan Banerjee, appearing for All India Trinamool Congress members, submitted before a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymlaya Bagchi that in 31 constituencies, the winning margin of the Bharatiya Janata Party over the AITC was less than the number of persons deleted in the SIR adjudication process.

A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) has also been filed before the Supreme Court seeking greater transparency and procedural safeguards in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted in West Bengal. The petition filed through AoR Neha Rathi seeks directions to the Election Commission and other authorities to disclose constituency-wise data on voter addition and deletion applications, make public the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) governing SIR appeals, and issue simplified guidelines to assist affected voters.

Filed under Article 32 of the Constitution, the plea by the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee's SIR Committee chairperson Prasenjit Bose seeks enforcement of rights guaranteed under Articles 14, 19 and 21. It asks the Court to direct the respondents to disclose constituency-wise numbers of Form 6 and Form 7 applications submitted, admitted and rejected during the claims and objections phase of the SIR exercise. It also seeks publication of the SOP framed on April 7, 2026, by a three-member judicial committee pursuant to earlier Supreme Court directions.

Bench: Justices Nagarathna and Bagchi

Mentioning Date: June 23, 2026