The Supreme Court of India on Friday praised the high voter participation recorded in the first phase of the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026, noting that the turnout reflected the strength of democratic processes in the country. A Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, made the observations while hearing petitions related to electoral roll revisions.
The court highlighted the historic voter turnout of 91.78% recorded in Phase 1 of polling, describing it as one of the highest participation rates since Independence. CJI Surya Kant remarked that when citizens actively exercise their voting rights, it strengthens democratic institutions. The Bench also noted that the polling process remained largely peaceful across constituencies.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi observed that the elections were conducted without significant incidents of violence, underlining the overall orderly nature of the voting process. The Election Commission of India had reported that the turnout surpassed previous records, including the 84.72% participation recorded in 2011, marking a significant rise in electoral engagement.
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During the hearing, the court was informed that migrant workers also participated in large numbers, with many returning to their constituencies to cast votes. Senior Advocate Kalyan Bandyopadhyay described the turnout as historic, while Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also acknowledged the high participation, though he noted a few isolated incidents.
The Bench, however, expressed concern over delays in the appeal process related to voter exclusions under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. It was informed that only a small fraction of nearly 27 lakh appeals had been resolved, prompting the court to term the situation as concerning and urging faster resolution mechanisms.
The court allowed affected parties to approach the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court for necessary intervention and directed that cases involving voter rights be prioritised. It also granted additional time to the National Investigation Agency in a related matter concerning alleged obstruction of judicial officers handling voter claims, emphasising the need for both efficiency and fairness in the electoral process.
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