Woman's Ration Benefits Saved: Calcutta High Court Stays Discontinuation After Electoral Roll Deletion
The Calcutta High Court on Thursday stayed the discontinuation of Public Distribution System (PDS) benefits for Umme Salma, a resident of Cooch Behar district, after her name was deleted from the electoral roll during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise earlier this year.
Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya directed the West Bengal government not to take any coercive steps against the petitioner regarding her monthly ration entitlement without the court's permission. The order came in response to Salma's challenge against a June 4, 2026 notification by the Special Secretary to the Food and Supplies Department, which aimed to "weed out ineligible and ghost beneficiaries" based on SIR outcomes. Her local fair price shop dealer had warned that her benefits would be stopped unless she could prove an appeal concerning her electoral status.
The court observed two key issues: "Whether deletion of name from the electoral roll could have been a ground for denying supply of necessities through the public distribution system" and "whether such supply can be stopped during the pendency of an application under Form 6." The June 4 order was titled "Verification and deletion of ineligible PDS beneficiaries based on the outcome of Special Intensive Revision (SIR), 2026 of electoral rolls conducted in West Bengal." A similar notification for the Annapurna Bhandar scheme for women stated that only those who applied for adjudication after deletion could avail benefits.
Over 90 lakh names were deleted during the SIR process in West Bengal ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections. The Supreme Court has reiterated that exclusion from electoral rolls cannot have consequences unrelated to voting.
In a related case, a Division Bench of the Calcutta High Court held that voter ID, Aadhaar, and PAN cards are not conclusive proof of Indian citizenship. The bench, comprising Justice Debangsu Basak and Justice Ajay Kumar Gupta, dismissed a habeas corpus petition filed by Suman Molla, whose nephew Nasir had been detained since June 18, 2026, after his name was deleted from electoral rolls despite a pending appeal. The court stated that the petitioner and detainee failed to prove Indian citizenship under the Immigration and Foreigners Act, 2025, and noted inconsistencies in documents, including variations in the father's name and lack of evidence connecting relatives.
