Uncertainty persists over the exact number of voter documents that will be placed before judicial officers for verification in poll-bound West Bengal, even as the scrutiny phase of claims and objections to the draft electoral roll under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) concluded at midnight on Saturday.

The issue pertains to cases flagged as involving “logical discrepancies” during hearings on claims and objections. A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court of India had earlier directed that such disputed documents be examined by judicial officers.

At a high-level meeting chaired by Sujoy Paul, chief justice of the Calcutta High Court, it was decided to appoint 250 judicial officers to adjudicate the contested cases. The meeting was attended by chief electoral officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal, Chief Secretary Nandini Goswami, Acting Director General of Police Peeyush Pandey, State Advocate General Kishore Datta and an additional solicitor general representing the Union government.

However, officials said that since regular scrutiny was still underway when the meeting concluded late Saturday evening, the exact number of documents to be referred for judicial adjudication could not be determined. An insider in the CEO’s office indicated that preliminary estimates place the figure between 45 lakh and 50 lakh cases — a volume that could pose significant logistical challenges.

During the meeting, justice Paul is understood to have expressed reservations about whether such a large number of documents could be examined within a short timeframe. He is expected to hold a virtual discussion with senior officials of the Election Commission of India to seek further clarity on the roadmap ahead.

For now, authorities have decided that the final electoral roll will be published as scheduled on 28 February, excluding the documents referred for judicial scrutiny. Supplementary rolls will be issued later after the adjudication process is completed.

In a parallel development, the Calcutta High Court issued a notification cancelling the leave of all judicial officers in the state until March 9, directing those currently on leave to resume duty by Monday. The order exempts emergency medical leave.

With the SIR exercise unfolding against the backdrop of impending elections, the scale of verification and the compressed timeline have added a fresh layer of complexity to the electoral process in the state.

With IANS inputs