The date of publication of the final voter list under Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal has been extended. Earlier this list was scheduled to be released on 14 February 2026, but now it will be published by 28 February 2026. This decision has been issued today by the Election Commission of India (ECI) following the instructions of the Supreme Court.
Officials are receiving threats
SIR process is going on in West Bengal, the objective of which is to make the voter list pure and accurate. In this, the old list is being examined, claims and objections are being heard and wrong or repeated names are being removed. Many challenges emerged in this process, such as threats to officials and time taken in document verification.
Supreme Court ordered to extend the date
Mamata Banerjee government had filed a petition in the Supreme Court, in which questions were raised on SIR. During the hearing on 9 February 2026, the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to extend the time limit for investigation or hearing of claims, objections, notices and documents by at least one week. The court said that even after February 14, at least one more week should be given so that all the documents can be verified properly.
After this, the Election Commission released a new timetable today. Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Kumar Aggarwal said that the final voter list will not be released before February 21. He said, ‘We are trying our best to publish it by February 28.’
What is the new timetable?
According to the notification of the Election Commission, the hearing of claims and objections will now continue till February 14, earlier this deadline was less. Scrutiny of documents and decision will be completed by 21st February. Whereas, the final voter list will be published on 28 February 2026. This increase has been made to comply with the order of the Supreme Court. Earlier in the original timetable of SIR, the final list was to come on 14th February, but now there has been an increase of 14 days (two weeks).
There are 4 big reasons for extending the date:
- The Supreme Court said that document verification will take more time.
- There were threats and obstructions during SIR in West Bengal, on which the court sought a reply from the state DGP.
- Now 8,505 Group B officers are being deployed to help in SIR.
- About 1.39 crore cases have been heard and 1.06 crore documents have been uploaded.
What will be the impact of the Supreme Court’s decision?
Due to the order of the Supreme Court, people who want to add or remove their names from the voter list will now get more time. This list is very important before the West Bengal Assembly elections 2026, because the Election Commission will be based on it. TMC has called it a ‘big victory’, while the opposition is raising questions calling it a delay.
