The Supreme Court of India on Wednesday clarified that a Class 10 admit card, when produced along with a pass certificate, may be accepted as supplementary documentation for identity verification in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi passed the clarification after advocate D.S. Naidu mentioned the matter, seeking clarity on whether a Madhyamik admit card could be treated as a standalone identity document.
The court made it clear that it had earlier directed that the admit card would not be treated as a standalone proof but only as a supplementary document when accompanied by the pass certificate. It further clarified that Madhyamik (Class-X) admit cards may be submitted along with the pass certificate for purposes of birth verification and establishing parentage.
In fresh directions, the bench ordered that all documents referred to in paragraph 3(iii) of its February 24 order — which have not yet been uploaded but were received before February 15, must be submitted by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AREOs) to the presiding judicial officers by 5 pm on Thursday.
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The apex court had on Tuesday permitted deployment of West Bengal civil judges, in addition to 250 district judges, to handle around 80 lakh claims and objections arising from voters facing deletion during the SIR exercise. It also allowed requisition of judicial officers from neighbouring Jharkhand and Odisha to expedite the process.
The bench took note of a February 22 communication from Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Sujoy Paul, who indicated that even with 250 district judges assigned, it would take approximately 80 days to dispose of cases involving voters flagged under “logical discrepancy” and “unmapped” categories.
Logical discrepancies include mismatches in parents’ names linked to the 2002 voter list and age gaps between a voter and parent of less than 15 years or more than 50 years.
Observing that even if each judicial officer handled 250 cases daily, the exercise would still require about 80 days, the court authorised the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to deploy civil judges from senior and junior divisions with at least three years’ experience. It also permitted temporary deputation of similarly ranked judicial officers from Jharkhand and Odisha.
The deadline for completing the SIR exercise in West Bengal is February 28.
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