The Supreme Court has ordered that voters excluded during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal can be allowed to exercise their franchise in the ensuing assembly elections if their appeals against deletion were allowed by Appellate tribunals at least two days before the polling day.Exercising its powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, a Bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the Election Commission to issue a supplementary revised electoral roll to include such voters cleared by appellate tribunals to enable them to cast their votes in the assembly election.Elections to the 294-member West Bengal Assembly will be held in two phases — on April 23 and April 29. Votes will be counted on May 4.“We, therefore, invoke our powers under Article 142 of the Constitution of India and direct the ECI that, wherever the Appellate Tribunals are able to decide the appeals by April 21, 2026 (for first phase) or April 27, 2026 (for second phase), as the case may be, such appellate orders shall be given effect to by issuing a supplementary revised electoral roll, and all necessary consequences with respect to the right to vote shall follow,” the Bench ordered.If an appeal was allowed by the appellate tribunal and a conclusive direction for inclusion or exclusion was issued, such directions shall be duly effectuated before the State of West Bengal proceeds to polling on April 23 or April 29, it said.“However, it goes without saying that the mere pendency of appeals preferred by excluded persons before the Appellate Tribunals shall not entitle them to exercise their right to vote,” it clarified in its April 13 order uploaded on Thursday.The top court noted that over 34 lakh appeals against exclusion from electoral rolls have already been filed.The directions came on petitions filed by those excluded from the electoral rolls during the SIR exercise seeking interim voting rights.The top court, however, refused to grant interim voting rights to excluded voters during the pendency of their appeals before appellate tribunals.“This, in our considered view, cannot be permitted, particularly when Judicial Officers from the State of West Bengal, duly assisted by Judicial Officers from the States of Jharkhand and Odisha, have completed what can only be described as a truly herculean task within a remarkably short span of time,” it said.If a petitioner’s appeal was allowed, the necessary consequences regarding inclusion in the electoral roll would follow, it said, posting the matter for further hearing on April 24.Flagging the lack of trust between the West Bengal Government and the Election Commission, the Supreme Court on Thursday dismissed a petition challenging the transfer of more than 1,000 administrative and police officers by the poll panel in the state.It was the “misfortune” of the country that the purpose of creating the All India Services was getting frustrated, the Bench noted.However, it kept open for adjudication in the future the contentious legal question about whether the Election Commission needed to consult the concerned state before effecting administrative changes in poll-bound states.