<p>The <span class="key-term" data-definition="Supreme Court of India — apex judicial body with authority to interpret the Constitution; its decisions impact electoral law (GS2: Polity)">Supreme Court</span> on 13 April 2026 expressed reluctance to let voters whose names have been deleted from the electoral roll cast ballots in the upcoming <span class="key-term" data-definition="West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026 — state legislative elections scheduled for 23 and 29 April 2026 (GS2: Polity)">West Bengal Assembly Elections</span> while their appeals are pending before the <span class="key-term" data-definition="Appellate Tribunals — specialized bodies that hear appeals against decisions of the Election Commission regarding voter inclusion/exclusion (GS2: Polity)">Appellate Tribunals</span>. The bench, headed by <strong>Chief Justice of India Surya Kant</strong> and <strong>Justice Joymalya Bagchi</strong>, was briefed that more than 34.35 lakh appeals have been filed.</p> <h3>Key Developments</h3> <ul> <li>The Court ruled that persons excluded from the rolls cannot vote until their appeals are finally decided.</li> <li>It hinted at a possible interim order to publish a <span class="key-term" data-definition="Supplementary Electoral Roll (SIR) — a process to update the electoral roll by adding or deleting names before an election; crucial for voter inclusion (GS2: Polity)">SIR</span> that would incorporate appeals allowed before the election dates of 23 and 29 April.</li> <li>Justice Bagchi clarified that if a constituency’s roll was frozen on 9 April and the appeal was decided before that date, the affected voters may vote on 23 April.</li> <li>Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandhopadhyay warned that the 19 tribunals cannot clear lakhs of appeals before the poll, urging interim relief for the appellants.</li> <li>Senior Advocate Shyam Divan, representing the West Bengal Chief Minister, cited the proviso to <span class="key-term" data-definition="Representation of the People Act, 1950 — primary legislation governing electoral rolls and qualifications of electors in India (GS2: Polity)">Representation of the People Act, 1950</span> that the existing roll should be used if the SIR process is ongoing.</li> <li>Justice Bagchi referred to Rule 23(3) and 23(5) of the <span class="key-term" data-definition="Registration of Electors Rules, 1960 — detailed rules for maintaining electoral rolls, including provisions for interim suspension (GS2: Polity)">Registration of Electors Rules, 1960</span>, stating that an appeal’s allowance mandates immediate amendment of the roll.</li> <li>The Court emphasized that granting interim inclusion would obligate a similar interim exclusion for opposite cases, maintaining procedural parity.</li> </ul> <h3>Important Facts</h3> <p>• Over <strong>34.35 lakh</strong> appeals filed as on 11 April 2026.<br/>• Elections scheduled in two phases: <strong>23 April</strong> and <strong>29 April 2026</strong>.<br/>• 19 appellate tribunals a</p>