The Supreme Court of India on Friday commended the high voter turnout recorded during the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly elections, calling it a positive sign for democratic participation. The bench, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipin Pancholi, also expressed satisfaction over the largely peaceful conduct of polling.
According to the Election Commission of India, voter turnout in the first phase stood at around 91.78 percent—marking one of the highest participation levels since Independence and surpassing previous records.
Observing the figures, the Chief Justice remarked that strong voter participation reflects the strength of the country’s democratic framework. Justice Bagchi also noted that the absence of significant poll-related violence was encouraging.
The court was hearing a series of petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. Earlier, the apex court had declined to halt the revision process ahead of elections and had instead directed the deployment of judicial officers and retired judges to handle disputes related to voter deletions.
During the hearing, senior advocate Kalyan Bandyopadhyay highlighted the high turnout and said that many migrant workers had returned to cast their votes. Supporting the sentiment, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta described the turnout as “historic,” while acknowledging that polling remained largely peaceful barring a few minor incidents.
However, concerns were raised over the slow pace of resolving voter-related appeals. The court was informed that only a small fraction of the large number of appeals filed against voter list exclusions had been decided so far. In response, the bench allowed parties to approach the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court for necessary directions to expedite the process.
The court reiterated that cases related to excluded voters should be taken up on priority, considering the urgency linked to the ongoing elections.
In a related development, the bench granted additional time to the National Investigation Agency to file its chargesheet in connection with a recent incident involving the gherao of judicial officers assigned to handle voter claim disputes.
The proceedings highlighted both the success of voter participation and the ongoing challenges linked to electoral roll management in the state.
