Justice Surya Kant

Supreme Court weighs whether SIR deletions exceeding poll margins matter

On a Trinamool Congress claim that in 31 constituencies the number of voters deleted in the SIR exceeded the winning margin, the Chief Justice asked aloud whether the Court could direct fresh elections on that basis. Justice Bagchi said the point could become relevant if an election result itself came to be decided by the Court. The bench directed that all pending appeals, not only those in the 31 flagged constituencies, be examined.

The '31 seats' figure recurs in numbers-obrien-31-seats-claim-2026-09-18 and numbers-ec-reply-31-seats-2026-09-18 (18 Sept 2026), where the Commission tells the Court elections can only be challenged by election petition; this 25 Aug 2026 hearing is the earlier occasion the same 31-constituency claim was argued, and is not a duplicate of those entries. Not previously recorded.

• TIER 3 · PRESSCan't interfere with poll results unless winning margin less than number of exclusions: Supreme Court in West Bengal SIR caseBar and Bench2026-08-25