West Bengal SIR : Live Updates From Supreme Court Hearing

Adv Ashwini Upadhyay: Most Aadhaar card made in border districts...one line may be added to control fake documents...it is seen throughout country...whenever people are caught, it is found Aadhaar is from Bengal

CJI: It would require deeper probe, but this is not the time. Let right atmosphere

Upadhyay: This SIR will become benchmark

J Bagchi: Ld. SG is there to make representation to Union to amend RP Act. If Aadhaar has been obtained fraudulently on industrial scale, as you say, then it has to be statutorily regulated. It was brought in as proof of identity. If a receipt has been fraudulently created, ERO will point out.

Order: We direct that all such documents on or before cutoff date of 14 Feb may be considered.

(iv) It shall be entire responsibility of ERO/AERO to satisfy presiding judicial officer of documents referred above. Last date of publication of final roll is 28 Feb. However, that being said, if verification exercise undertaken in respect of LD/unmapped category remains incomplete, ECI may publish final list followed by supplements to final list. Such supplements shall be published on continuous basis as soon as pending exercise is completed. In exercise of art 142 power, we state that voters in such supplementary list shall be deemed to have been part of final list published on 28 feb

J Bagchi (to Naidu): We are not concerned with voter coming forward now, we are concerned with fairness.

Order:

(iii) Ld. CJs of Jharkhand and Orissa requested to sympathetically consider request of Calcutta HC CJ. For streamlining nature of work, we clarify that verification shall be wrt documents referred to in (a) notification dt. 27.10.2025 issues by ECI declaring commencement of SIR in WB, read with notification dt. 24 june (b) 8.09.25 order of this court in wp no... whereby aadhaar card was allowed as proof of identity (c) 19.01.26 order of this court passed in instant petition whereby [...] admit card and certificate were also allowed to be submitted.

Order: (ii) if CJ is of opinion that further human resources will be required for completing the process, he is at liberty to approach ld. CJs of neighboring states - HC of Jharkhand and Orissa HC - to provide serving or former judicial officers of similar rank from those states - who shall then also be associated to undertake verification work in WB. In that eventuality, travel boarding honorarium other expenses shall be borne by ECI.

Taking note, and the time constraints, we are of the view that further clarification re catchment area of judicial officers undertaking the exercise, streamlining the nature of enquiry and other ancillary matters are required to be further addressed through following directions -

(i) in addition to judicial officers already assigned task, CJ of HC will be entitled to draw officers from rank of civil judges (sr and jr division) having experience of not less than 3 yrs, so that work can be taken up on war footing.

Order: To address the issues raised therein, the matter has been listed today. Parties apprised. Communication sent by ld. CJ informs that 250 judicial officers of rank of District Judge/Addl. DJ have been assigned to task of ascertaining approx. 50 lakh claims/objections of persons including LD/unmapped category. It is estimated that even in event that each judicial officer disposes of around 250 cases per day, entire exercise will stretch to 80 days.

Kalyan B: Rule is this - last day for inclusion is 7 days before nomination

J Bagchi: We will exercise our repository powers - we know the rules

Order: We are in receipt of a self speaking letter dt. 22.02.26 from Hon'ble CJ of Calcutta HC, highlighting the exercise to be undertaken in verification of approx. 80 lakh cases of LD/unmapped [voters].

Kalyan B: NDPS and POCSO Court judges have been requisitioned, not from civil side

CJI: That has to be his lordships' prerogative

Kalyan B: If judges from other states come, they won't understand Bengali

CJI: Part of Jharkhand, Orissa were part of Bengal...atleast some familiarity they will have. Sending from Delhi, Haryana [won't make sense].

Hearing begins

CJI: There's a status report given by HC...going by his calculation, even if 1 officer decided 50 objections in a day, it will take 80 days...all civil judges also...with 3 yrs service...we are permitting to utilize. We are also permitting him now to take on board judges from Orissa and Jharkhand...we will request those states' CJs also.

#WestBengalSIR hearing to begin shortly

Sr Advs Kapil Sibal, Shyam Diwan, Gopal Sankaranarayanan, Menaka Guruswamy and Kalyan Banerjee appearing for petitioners

Sr Adv Dama Seshadri Naidu for ECI.