New Delhi, May 12, 2026: In a significant development, the Supreme Court of India on May 11 permitted Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief and former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, along with other party leaders and affected candidates, to file fresh applications challenging the deletion of voter names in specific Assembly constituencies during the recent West Bengal polls.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi heard petitions related to the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls conducted ahead of the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections. Senior advocate and TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee argued that deletions had materially impacted results in at least 31 constituencies where the BJP’s victory margin was narrower than the number of votes removed.
The TMC has claimed that in several seats, the number of deleted names far exceeded the margin of defeat for its candidates. One cited example involved a TMC candidate who lost by just 862 votes in a constituency where over 5,000 voter names (approximately 5,432–5,550) were struck off for adjudication, with many appeals still pending.
The Supreme Court observed that while challenges to election results are typically filed through election petitions, it would allow targeted fresh pleas in cases where the number of deleted votes surpassed the winning margin. The court has kept the window open for judicial scrutiny in these limited instances.
The Special Intensive Revision was a pre-poll exercise by the Election Commission aimed at cleaning up electoral rolls by removing names of deceased persons, duplicates, and voters who had shifted constituencies. The TMC alleged that the drive disproportionately affected its supporters and influenced outcomes in closely contested seats.
The Election Commission has maintained that the SIR was conducted transparently and that proper remedies for aggrieved voters lie through the appeal process and election petitions. During the hearing, the apex court also sought a report from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court regarding the status of pending appeals for voter inclusion.
This order does not overturn any election results at this stage. It merely paves the way for fresh legal challenges focused specifically on the correlation between voter deletions and victory margins. The matter is expected to see further developments as the TMC prepares to file the new applications.
The ruling comes amid ongoing post-poll disputes in West Bengal following the 2026 Assembly elections, highlighting continued tensions between the TMC and the Election Commission over the electoral process.
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