SC asks petitioner to move Calcutta HC on SIR-ration plea

New Delhi: Supreme Court on Monday asked a petitioner to approach Calcutta High Court with his plea, challenging the omission of persons from the ration distribution system in West Bengal on the basis of their exclusion from electoral rolls after the special intensive revision (SIR).

The plea was mentioned before a vacation bench of justices BV Nagarathna and Joymalya Bagchi.

The plea challenged a June 4 order of the West Bengal Food and Supplies Department and a May 19 notification by the Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare. Both link beneficiary status under the public distribution system and the Annapurna Yojana to classifications generated during the SIR exercise, including categories such as dead, shifted, deleted and absentee electors.


The plea stated that between 35 lakh and 60 lakh ration cards could become inactive if the state applies the linkage mechanically.

The counsel for the petitioner argued that SC had upheld the SIR process in a separate plea and that other states were following a similar pattern of linking SIR outcomes to welfare entitlements. The counsel submitted that the matter required urgent listing.