Supreme Court Lauds 92% Voter Turnout & Lack Of Violence In West Bengal Elections
During the hearing of the West Bengal SIR matter, the Supreme Court today voiced appreciation for the 92 percent voter turnout and the lack of violent incidents in the State's Assembly elections.
"As a citizen of India, I was very happy to see the percentage of voting. In this country, people need to participate in elections. If people realize their power in a democracy, power of vote, and they follow rule of law, the democratic process and values, like 90% or so went for voting, then they don't indulge in violence. Because then they know that strength lies in democratic setup", the CJI stated.
The remarks came when Senior Advocate Kalyan Banerjee pointed out that West Bengal witnessed a historic 92% voter turnout yesterday (in its first phase of Assembly elections) and even migrant workers from across the country came back to the state to exercise their franchise.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi, on his part, noted another good thing besides the voter turnout, that is, "there was no violence reported". Solicitor General Tushar Mehta concurred in this regard, emphasizing that the security forces did a commendable job in preventing any untoward incident. Although, he also acknowledged that were a few incidents reported.
Interestingly, during the exchange, Justice Bagchi expressed in Bengali, "Rajaye rajaye yuddha haye, ulukhagrar pran jaye". That is, "The kings fight and the poor men suffer and die".
Ultimately, the bench, also comprising Justice Vipul M Pancholi, re-listed the matter, while passing an order granting liberty to persons aggrieved by exclusion/inclusion in electoral rolls to approach the Calcutta High Court and/or the Appellate Tribunal for remaining grievances.
Appearance: Senior Advocates Kalyan Banerjee, Rauf Rahim, Menaka Guruswamy, Siddharth Luthra and DS Naidu; SG Tushar Mehta
Case Title: MOSTARI BANU Versus THE ELECTION COMMISSION OF INDIA AND ORS., W.P.(C) No. 1089/2025 (and connected cases)