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2026-08-11 11:51 UTC → 2026-08-25 12:14 UTC ·
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India Supreme Court limits voter-list impacts on rights monitors West Bengal voter appeal backl
In early June 2026, West Bengal began cross-checking Public Distribution System (PDS) beneficiaries against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of Following the state Supreme Court’s ruling that removal from electoral rolls, deactivating ration cards rolls does not strip individuals of those removed as absent, shifted, duplicate welfare entitlements or dead. By mid-June, the voter-list shrinkage of more than nine million names was linked to the BJP’s landslide victory, sparking anxiety in other states, such as Telangana, about possible ration-card cancellations. At citizenship, legal scrutiny has shifted toward the end massive backlog of June, the state announced that eligibility for the Annapurna Yojana cash-transfer scheme and appeals regarding the PDS would depend on inclusion Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the electoral roll. Legal challengers argued this violated constitutional principles; the Supreme Court deferred an urgent hearing and sent the case to the Calcutta High Court. West Bengal. On 14 July 11 August 2026, the Supreme Court ruled that individuals removed from the rolls in the SIR retain entitlement to welfare programmes such as subsidised food grains and the Annapurna Yojana. Chief Justice Surya Kant directed petitioner Mohibulla Mondal the Election Commission to seek relief from provide comprehensive data on the Calcutta High Court status of appeals decided and urged the those pending before West Bengal’s appellate tribunal tribunals. This followed a petition by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury seeking the speedy disposal of cases related to decide the appeal within two months, confirming that removal from the rolls does not automatically strip benefits while cases are pending. On 17 July of approximately 9.1 million voters. At a hearing on 25 August 2026, the Supreme Court further clarified that deletion from the electoral roll does not cancel Indian citizenship. A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant held that ordered the Election Commission lacks authority of India to determine citizenship; removal only disqualifies expedite the appeals process, emphasizing that disenfranchised persons have a person from voting. right to decisions within a reasonable timeframe. The judges called for greater transparency in the SIR process and an effective appeal mechanism, noting Court requested a detailed breakdown of pending cases to determine if priority should be given to voter exclusion challenges versus inclusion requests. Data revealed via a Right to Information request indicated that around 3.4 of approximately 3.8 million appeals are pending before 19 tribunals, with only about 38,000 resolved so far. On 11 August 2026, appeals, roughly 80%—or 3.1 million—are challenges against the Supreme Court directed inclusion of certain persons in the Election Commission to provide comprehensive data regarding rolls. Of the status of approximately 83,000 appeals decided and those still to date, over 75,000 were allowed, meaning nearly 90% of decided cases favored the voters. The Court continues to seek clarity on the total volume of pending before cases and the West Bengal appellate tribunals. capacity of tribunals to manage the workload.