Bengal Election 2026: Supreme Court strict on Bengal SIR controversy, sought report from Chief Justice of Calcutta HC

News India Live, Digital Desk: Just before the West Bengal Assembly elections 2026, the Supreme Court of the country has taken a tough stance amidst the controversy over deletion of names in the voter list. The Supreme Court has directed the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to submit a detailed report today on the functioning of the Appellate Tribunals that were created to hear appeals against names removed from the electoral rolls.1. After all, why did the Supreme Court have to intervene? Senior advocate Devdutt Kamat raised this matter before the bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. Serious allegations: The petition alleged that the 19 appellate tribunals constituted by the Calcutta High Court are ‘not working’. Voting rights in danger: If these tribunals do not give timely decision, then lakhs of voters will be deprived of voting in the elections, because The process of adding names for several phases will stop on April 21 and 27.2. “We cannot be blinded by the dust and anger of the election.” During the hearing, Chief Justice Surya Kant made a very strong comment saying: Victory of Truth: “We cannot be blinded by the storm of the coming election, its dust and anger. The right to vote is not only a constitutional right but also an emotional right.” Use of Article 142: The Supreme Court, using its special powers (Article 142), directed the Election Commission (ECI) It has been directed that if the tribunal accepts the appeal by 21st or 27th April, the Commission will have to immediately issue ‘Supplementary Electoral Roll’ to include those voters.3. What is the full mathematics of the SIR controversy? Shocking figures have come to light during this ongoing amendment (SIR) in West Bengal: 90 lakh names removed: The names of about 90 lakh voters across the state have been removed from the list considering them suspicious. 34 lakh appeals pending: Out of these, about 34 lakh people have appealed in the tribunal. Attacks on judicial officers: Earlier, in districts like Malda, judges engaged in the SIR process were taken hostage and attacked. News of the attack had also come to light, on which the court had strongly reprimanded the Mamata Banerjee government.4. Now what will be the next step? Report by this evening: The Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court will have to tell today itself why the tribunals are not active and how many appeals have been disposed of. Next hearing on April 24: The Supreme Court will now hear this matter again on April 24, where it will be decided whether there is a need for any change in the Bengal election dates or the last date of the voter list.