SC allows Mamata fresh pleas on WB voter deletions

The Supreme Court of India on May 11, 2026, informed former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other Trinamool Congress leaders that they could file fresh applications claiming voter deletions during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls affected results in the state's recent Assembly elections.

A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi heard arguments in a batch of petitions related to the SIR process, conducted ahead of the polls. Senior advocate Kalyan Bandhopadhyay, representing Banerjee and party leaders, told the court that in 31 constituencies, the Bharatiya Janata Party's victory margins were smaller than the number of voters deleted and whose cases remained under adjudication. He cited one seat where the margin was 862 votes, compared to 5,432 deletions pending before tribunals. "Your Lordships had said that we could approach this court if such a situation happens," Bandhopadhyay said.

Over 34 lakh appeals had been filed across 19 appellate tribunals against exclusions, many due to "logical discrepancies" in voter details, a category unique to West Bengal. The court had ordered the tribunals' formation on March 11, but...