250 judicial officers drafted for final SIR push in Bengal; leaves cancelled, important cases shifted to other courts

About 250 judicial officers engaged in the last leg of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in West Bengal after the Supreme Court order started their work on Monday (February 23, 2026). All leaves of the judicial officers have been cancelled, and the urgent cases have been shifted to other Benches to allow the SIR process to wrap up faster and more amicably.

Each judicial officer has received a separate login ID for the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) portal.

The judicial officers will directly give their verdict on the pending disputed SIR cases and offer their final decisions. According to sources, the number of disputed SIR cases may be around 45 lakh, but a final number was not confirmed by any officials.

Also Read | Supreme Court asks judicial officers to be deployed for West Bengal SIR

In a notice, the Calcutta High Court directed all judicial officers of the concerned rank, including those on pre-approved leave, to report back to their courts by February 23, 2026, cancelling all leave, other than issues of medical emergencies. The leaves shall remain cancelled till March 9, 2026, according to the notice.

On Sunday (February 22, 2026), district court judges held meetings with district magistrates and police superintendents to chalk out a plan to address the lakhs of disputed SIR cases.

The final electoral rolls are scheduled to be published on February 28. However, it remains unclear if all the pending SIR-related tasks will be over by then to keep the publication of rolls on schedule.

Meanwhile, on Friday (February 20, 2026) the Supreme Court had also agreed with the ECI’s suggestion that a list of voters whose names have been cleared should be allowed to be published on the scheduled date in February. The rest could be included in a supplementary roll. 

February 14 was officially the last date of the hearing. According to West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar  Agarwal, around 4.98 lakh people did not appear for their hearings till February 14, and 1.63 lakh voters have been flagged as “ineligible” due to errors. 

Already around 58 lakh were deleted when the draft voter list was published. They were categorised under deceased, permanently shifted, or untraceable. 

Also Read | Trinamool hails Supreme Court order to engage judicial officers for SIR in Bengal

Central forces deployed 

In a related development, multiple companies of the Central forces have already reached West Bengal on Monday after the EC ordered their deployment. 

Central armed police forces (CAPF) officials will conduct a meeting with the State Election Commission officials and State police forces on Monday to hash out details of their deployment and upcoming work during the elections. The CEO  of  West  Bengal  will also be part of this meeting. 

The officials will come up with a blueprint to identify sensitive areas in the State to decide on the Central forces’ deployment. In case of need, they will also demand more Central forces. 

By March 10, 480 companies of the Central forces will be deployed in the State in two phases. About 240 companies of the CAPF will arrive in the State on March 1. The remaining 240 companies will be deployed on March 10. 

EC sources said this deployment was a confidence-building measure before the elections.