The Supreme Court on Tuesday (February 24, 2026) directed the deployment of civil judges in the Bengal Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process and said that if there remains a shortage of judicial officers, neighbouring states should be approached for assistance.
The Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court informed the apex court that the SIR did not have adequate judicial officers to handle the backlog within the limited time available.
Officer Shortage And Earlier Directions
At a previous hearing, the Supreme Court had asked the Calcutta High Court to appoint judicial officers, noting differences between the Bengal government and the Election Commission over the appointment of officers for the SIR.
On Monday, the Calcutta High Court said there were insufficient officers available to meet the SIR deadline.
The final list of the ongoing Special Intensive Inspection (SIR) of voter lists in Bengal is scheduled for publication on February 28.
Dispute Between State And EC
The state government had been asked to provide Class 2 officers to the Election Commission to examine objections and claims relating to the voter list. This led to disagreements between the two sides, after which the court directed that judicial officers undertake the task.
The Supreme Court is hearing petitions challenging the validity of the SIR process. The Bengal government opposed the appointment of micro-observers from other states, while the Election Commission said officers from outside had to be called in as the state did not provide personnel.
During the February 9 hearing, the court directed the Bengal government to provide Class 2 officers. On February 20, however, the Election Commission said they had not yet been made available.
The Bengal government has contended that the Election Commission appointed a new category of officers, termed Special Role Officers (SROs), who rank above Electoral Registration Officers (EROs). In view of the dispute, the Supreme Court directed that the work assigned to SROs be handled by judicial officers.
50 Lakh Claims Pending
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Panchaul observed that 50 lakh claims require scrutiny.
The bench noted that even if 250 district judges and additional district judges were appointed, and each officer disposed of 250 cases per day, the process would still take 80 days to complete.
CJI Surya Kant stated that, in the circumstances, the court was adding further directions to its earlier order.
Fresh Directions From The Bench
The court said the Chief Justice of the High Court should also utilise civil judges with more than three years of experience.
If there continues to be a shortage of judicial officers, the Chief Justice should request the Chief Justices of neighbouring states, Jharkhand and Odisha, to provide judicial officers.
The Election Commission will bear the travel and stay expenses of these officers.
Supplementary List Permitted
While the final list is due on February 28, the Election Commission may publish a supplementary list thereafter.
Those included in the supplementary list will also be treated as part of the final list.
