Supreme Court to examine whether persons deleted from voter list in SIR can be denied welfare schemes

📌 Summary:

• The Supreme Court (July 17, 2026) will examine a plea alleging that the West Bengal government is using Special Intensive Revision (SIR) data to delete names from welfare schemes covering food security, women's welfare and Backward Caste certification
• A three-judge Bench headed by CJI Surya Kant observed that SIR is linked ONLY to elections and cannot be used for any other purpose
• The Court reiterated its May 27 judgment in the Bihar SIR case: the SIR outcome cannot be used to conclusively determine citizenship, nor to deny welfare entitlements
• Core issue: whether an electoral-roll exercise (a franchise/RPA matter) can have collateral consequences on constitutional welfare rights and access to statutory benefits
• Raises federalism and rights concerns — de-listing from electoral rolls potentially affecting delivery of food security (NFSA) and social-justice benefits