Today, On 24th April, The Supreme Court, hearing the Special Intensive Revision case, praised West Bengal’s record voter turnout in Phase 1, with CJI Surya Kant saying he was happy to see citizens strengthen democracy. Justice Bagchi added that there were no incidents of violence.
The Supreme Court, during the hearing of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) case , praised the highest-ever voter turnout recorded in the first phase of the West Bengal elections held on Thursday.
It also noted its satisfaction that polling concluded without any violence.
The Bench, comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipin Pancholi, also expressed its satisfaction that there was no poll-related violence in the State.
After the SIR published earlier and reportedly deleting around 90 lakh voters West Bengal recorded a historic turnout of 92.88 per cent, the highest in the state since Independence.
CJI Surya Kant remarked,
“As a citizen of India, I was very happy to see the voting percentage. When people exercise right to vote, this strengthens democratic set up,”
Similarly, Justice Bagchi said,
“There has been no incidents of violence also.”
When Senior Advocate Kalyan Banerjee highlighted the high turnout during the hearing, the Chief Justice remarked,
“If people realise the power of their vote, they do not indulge in violence.”
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also praised the turnout, describing it as historic at 92 per cent and stating that the election remained largely peaceful, except for a few isolated incidents.
Election Commission of India data showed that the previous peak turnout was 84.72 per cent in the 2011 Assembly elections.
Women voters outpaced men in Thursday’s voting: female turnout was 92.69 per cent, while male electors recorded 90.92 per cent. Turnout among third-gender voters was 56.79 per cent.
The Election Commission said the increase in voter participation was driven by several voter-friendly steps, including better voter information slips, fewer electors per polling booth, and improved support for persons with disabilities.