Overview
- The court granted at least a one‑week extension beyond February 14 for electoral registration officers to finish scrutinising documents and deciding claims and objections under the SIR.
- Final decisions will rest solely with Electoral Registration Officers, with micro‑observers confined to an assisting role as the court reiterated the statutory scheme.
- The Election Commission may scrutinise, train and deploy suitable officials from a list of 8,505 Group‑B officers offered by West Bengal, with authority to replace those not performing.
- West Bengal was directed to ensure these 8,505 officers report to district electoral authorities by the specified deadline, with deployment and work profiles to be set by the ECI.
- Issuing a show‑cause notice, the court ordered the state DGP to file a personal affidavit on ECI allegations of threats, violence and burning of notices, even as the bench cautioned against mass exclusion tied to software‑flagged ‘logical discrepancy’ cases.