Supreme Court Intervenes in West Bengal Electoral Roll Controversy

The Supreme Court has mandated the involvement of serving and former district judges to assist the Election Commission in West Bengal's contentious special intensive revision of electoral rolls. The decision comes amid a clash between the state government and the EC, aiming to ensure fair adjudication of claims.

In a move seen as unprecedented, the Supreme Court on Friday directed the deployment of serving and former district judges to assist the Election Commission of India in resolving the contentious issue of electoral roll revisions in West Bengal. This decision aims to mitigate the ongoing discord between the state government and the EC.

The bench, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, expressed concern over the 'unfortunate blame game' and 'trust deficit.' Judicial officers will now oversee the adjudication of claims related to discrepancies in the electoral rolls, particularly in cases involving logical discrepancies with progeny linking.

The court has assigned Chief Justice Sujoy Paul of Calcutta High Court to marshal judicial resources for this effort and stressed that any impediments to this process would lead to judicial or EC intervention from other states to uphold the fairness of the electoral process.

(With inputs from agencies.)