Supreme Court Directs ECI on West Bengal Voter Verification for Transparency

• The Supreme Court issued directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) for transparent and fair verification of voters in West Bengal's Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
• The order addresses petitions alleging arbitrariness and procedural lapses in the SIR exercise, focusing on voters in the 'logical discrepancies' category.
• ECI must publicly display names of voters who received notices for 'logical discrepancies' at gram panchayat bhavans, block offices, and ward offices.
• Around 1.25 crore voters in West Bengal received notices for discrepancies like age mismatches with parents (less than 15 or more than 50 years difference).
• The court mandated local submission points for documents/objections within panchayat bhavans or block offices and allowed authorized agents to submit on behalf of voters.

Why It Matters: Supreme Court mandates transparency and accessibility for voter verification in West Bengal's electoral roll revision.