Supreme Court to Prioritize Voter Inclusion Appeals in West Bengal

The Supreme Court is set to hear appeals from over 22 lakh voters purged from West Bengal’s electoral rolls. The court's intervention, following a hearing on Friday, October 9, 2026, seeks to address a massive backlog that threatens to bar these citizens from voting in the state's civic body elections scheduled for November.

Court proceedings

The bench, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, indicated it will prioritise inclusion appeals and address systemic delays, including software issues, in the tribunal process. Chief Justice Surya Kant said the court is trying to sort out problems where the bulk of appeals are from those seeking deletion of names of voters. He stated the court will ask tribunals to push back appeals seeking deletion of names and decide first those seeking inclusion.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted there was also a problem with the software and the court was looking to address those issues. He said the court had received feedback on software architecture needing to be thrashed out with the Election Commission of India, adding that technology, method and fairness has to match. Advocate Prashant Bhushan and senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan appeared for the petitioners. They said 93 per cent of appeals pending with Special Intensive Revision tribunals had been allowed so far. Bhushan said the deleted voters were uncertain whether they would be allowed to vote in the civic elections, as they had been barred from voting in recent bypolls. Sankaranarayanan argued that the affected voters had already missed one election and were going to miss another. The court said the case would most likely be listed on October 16, 2026, on a priority basis.

Backlog and impact

A total of 38.31 lakh appeals were filed in the 19 Appellate Tribunals in West Bengal. Of these, 37.05 lakh are currently stuck in limbo.

Appellate Tribunals have disposed of only 3% of total appeals filed. Over one lakh appeals were decided by tribunals in the past six months, with 93% of those ruled in favour of deleted voters, ordering re-inclusion. Congress leader Prasenjit Bose argued the backlog clearance would take over 12 years at the present pace. The disentitled voters missed both Assembly elections in May 2026 and recent by-elections.

Outcome and next steps

The Court has signalled it will list the case for priority hearing on October 16, with a view to delivering a via media solution that ensures fairness and timely inclusion. Lawyers argued voters should be allowed to vote in Municipal elections scheduled for November 2026. The Election Commission of India had filed an affidavit in September 2026 regarding the matter. The bench, comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said October 29, 2026, was a more convenient date for listing but indicated priority would be given to the October date. Justice Bagchi said the court would make appropriate interventions. The Supreme Court will hear the case on October 16, 2026, on a priority basis to address the backlog and determine voter inclusion for upcoming civic elections.