Kolkata: In an unprecedented intervention, the Supreme Court on Tuesday (February 24) authorised the deployment of judicial officers from Odisha and Jharkhand to oversee the special intensive revision (SIR) in West Bengal.A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi expanded the judicial pool to include civil judges (senior and junior division) with at least three years of experience, alongside district and additional district judges.This decision follows the “trust deficit” between the state government and the Election Commission (EC) observed by the highest court.As per the EC’s submission to the court, there is a massive backlog of five million cases involving logical discrepancies that require urgent adjudication. To protect voting rights, the Supreme Court invoked Article 142, declaring that any names cleared after the February 28 deadline via supplementary lists will be legally deemed part of the original final electoral roll.“We deem it appropriate to invoke our powers under Article 142 and declare that voters enlisted in such supplementary lists shall be deemed to be part of final list published on February 28, 2026,” the bench said.The court’s order addresses a critical resource shortage, noting that with only 250 local judicial officers, it would take 80 days to clear the backlog, well beyond the February 28 deadline. To bridge this gap, the Calcutta high court is now permitted to borrow judicial officers from neighbouring Jharkhand and Odisha, with the EC bearing all related costs.The court also clarified that Aadhaar cards, madhyamik (Class X) admit cards and pass certificates must be accepted if submitted by the February 14 cut-off. To ensure transparency, verification rooms will be equipped with CCTV cameras and a three-member committee, comprising the district magistrate, district judge and police superintendent will monitor each district.Hailing the order as a “decisive victory for Bengal”, the Trinamool Congress has termed it as a stinging rebuke to the EC.“The apex court has effectively removed the SIR process in Bengal from the unfettered discretion and supervision of the EC. The Commission has lost both control and credibility in the manner in which this exercise was being conducted,” said Trinamool Rajya Sabha MP Sagarika Ghosh.“This is yet another resounding slap in the face for the Election Commission and Mr. Vanish Kumar,” she added, referring to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.“The Commission has been acting insolently as a proxy for the BJP. However, state government officials have shown incompetence in resolving the issue permanently. They are raising points that have led the Supreme Court to remark on a ‘trust deficit.’ Not just judges, but judicial officers from other states now have to intervene in this matter, which is putting the very foundation of the Constitution at risk,” said Communist Party of India (Marxist) leader Sujan Chakraborty.The administrative pressure of the SIR process has already led to reports of a serious crisis in border districts like Malda, Murshidabad, Nadia, North and South 24 Parganas.On February 20, Congress MP for Malda Dakshin, Isha Khan Choudhury, sent a letter to West Bengal chief electoral officer Manoj Agarwal, raising concerns over nearly 5.91 lakh cases that were returned for review in Malda alone just 24 hours before the initial February 21 deadline. Allegations of software-driven errors, specifically in the English transliteration of Bengali names, have reportedly forced 30,000 to 50,000 genuine voters back into hearings, sparking widespread panic across every block of the district.“I raised questions in parliament last December regarding how this SIR process could be conducted fairly in such a short timeframe. There are numerous procedural lapses. The Election Commission is echoing the BJP’s tune, while the Trinamool is speaking in another; but as long as ordinary voters remain consumed by anxiety over this, issues of life and livelihood are being pushed out of the conversation,” Khan Choudhury told the Wire.The SIR has also become a flashpoint for citizenship concerns, with nearly 6.19 lakh names already excluded statewide. Preliminary reports indicate that approximately three lakh names have been dropped in North 24 Parganas and Nadia alone – areas with high concentrations of Matua and refugee communities.While an EC official noted that no specific guidelines have been issued regarding those yet to receive citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, an empowered committee led by the deputy registrar general is being formed to resolve these issues.As the state moves toward the 2026 polls, the security apparatus is scaling up to meet unprecedented challenges. With 100% of booths now being considered to be classified as sensitive or highly sensitive, the Union home ministry is deploying 480 companies of the Central Armed Police Forces in two phases starting March 1.Translated from the Bengali original by Aparna Bhattacharya.