Kolkata, 21 February (H.S.) : A high-level meeting was convened at the Calcutta High Court on Saturday afternoon to deliberate on the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal, in compliance with recent directions issued by the Supreme Court.

The meeting was chaired by Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and focused on finalising a structured framework for judicial oversight of the revision process. The move follows the Supreme Court’s directive that the remaining stages of the Special Intensive Revision must be conducted under the supervision of serving judicial officers and retired judges to ensure transparency and impartiality.

The apex court had expressed serious concern over the ongoing dispute between the state government and the Election Commission regarding the conduct of the revision exercise. Taking note of what it described as an extraordinary situation, the court directed that judicial personnel be deployed to assist in overseeing the process.

Among those present at the meeting were Chief Secretary Nandini Chakraborty and Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal, along with other senior officials. The Chief Electoral Officer stated that the meeting would provide an opportunity for all stakeholders to present their perspectives, address existing complexities, and chart a clear course of action going forward.

The Supreme Court had also observed that the issue of inadequate availability of senior-grade officers for the revision work was being viewed seriously. In this context, it requested the Chief Justice to facilitate the deputation of serving district judges and identify retired judicial officers to support the exercise.

The Chief Justice was further instructed to convene the meeting to finalise the modalities for deploying judicial officers in the revision process. Officials indicated that the outcome of the deliberations is expected to bring greater clarity and structure to the implementation of the electoral roll revision in the state.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh