<h2>Overview</h2> <p>The <span class="key-term" data-definition="Supreme Court — India's apex judicial body, final interpreter of the Constitution and source of binding judgments (GS2: Polity)">Supreme Court</span> has directed the <span class="key-term" data-definition="Election Commission of India (ECI) — autonomous constitutional authority responsible for administering free and fair elections in India (GS2: Polity)">Election Commission of India (ECI)</span> to issue supplementary revised electoral rolls in West Bengal. The order applies to voters whose appeals against deletion from the rolls are allowed by the <span class="key-term" data-definition="Appellate Tribunal — specialised judicial body that hears appeals against decisions of lower election authorities (GS2: Polity)">Appellate Tribunal</span> before the cut‑off dates of 21 April (Phase 1) and 27 April (Phase 2) 2026. The move aims to ensure that eligible voters can participate in the upcoming polling dates of 23 April and 29 April 2026.</p> <h3>Key Developments</h3> <ul> <li><strong>21 April 2026</strong> – Appeals allowed before this date will be reflected in a supplementary roll for the first phase (polling on 23 April).</li> <li><strong>27 April 2026</strong> – Appeals allowed before this date will be reflected in a supplementary roll for the second phase (polling on 29 April).</li> <li>The Court invoked <span class="key-term" data-definition="Article 142 — constitutional provision empowering the Supreme Court to pass orders necessary for doing complete justice (GS2: Polity)">Article 142</span> to compel the ECI to act.</li> <li>The Court clarified that merely filing an appeal does **not** confer voting rights; only a favourable appellate order does.</li> <li>Pending appeals that are **not** allowed will not be granted interim voting rights.</li> </ul> <h3>Important Facts</h3> <p>The <span class="key-term" data-definition="Special Intensive Revision (SIR) — a focused exercise to clean and update electoral rolls by removing duplicate, ineligible or deceased entries (GS2: Polity)">SIR</span> process in West Bengal involved a massive verification effort. Judicial officers from West Bengal, assisted by officers from Jharkhand and Odisha, examined more than <strong>60 lakh</strong> objections. Over <strong>34 lakh</strong> appeals have already been filed before the Appellate Tribunals, covering both claims of wrongful exclusion and objections to alleged wrongful inclusion.</p> <p>The Court praised the “truly herculean” work of these judicial officers, noting that the appellate mechanism is fully operational and capable of granting relief where warranted.</p> <h3>UPSC Relevance</h3> <p>This judgment touches upon several core UPSC themes:</p> <ul> <li><strong>Constitutional Law</strong>: Use of <span class="key-term" data-definition="Article 142 — constitutional provision empowering the Supreme Court to pass orders necessary for doing complete justice (GS2: Polity)">Article 142</span>