The Supreme Court on Wednesday clarified that voters in West Bengal can use the Maadhyamik (Class 10) admit card along with the Maadhyamik pass certificate during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The documents can help verify age and parentage.
A Bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipul Pancholi issued the clarification. Senior Advocate Dama Sheshadiri Naidu, appearing for the Election Commission of India (ECI), mentioned the issue.
The clarification relates to the Supreme Court’s February 24 order. In that order, the Court also deployed judicial officers to decide claims and objections in the SIR process.
Admit card must be used with pass certificate
The Bench clarified paragraph 3(iii)(c) of the February 24 order. It said a voter may submit the Class 10 admit card together with the pass certificate. The combination can help verify the date of birth and parentage.
During the hearing, Naidu asked the Court to ensure that authorities accept the admit card only for age verification. However, Justice Bagchi pointed out that the admit card also carries the father’s name.
Justice Bagchi noted that the Maadhyamik admit card in West Bengal contains both date of birth and parentage details.
Naidu also argued that the admit card should not work as a standalone document. He said it should only support other records.
The Bench clarified that the admit card will operate only in addition to the pass certificate. Justice Bagchi explained that the pass certificate does not mention the date of birth or the father’s name.
Naidu then referred to the Supreme Court’s January 19 order in the same matter. That order allowed a candidate to produce the Maadhyamik admit card (showing date of birth) along with the pass certificate during hearings.
He submitted that the pass certificate alone may leave key details unverified. The Bench agreed to clarify the position. It then passed the order accordingly.
Documents received before February 14 must be handed over
The Supreme Court also issued directions about certain documents covered under paragraph 3(iii) of the February 24 order.
It directed the concerned Electoral Registration Officers/Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (EROs/AEROs) to hand over documents that they received on or before February 14, but did not upload. They must submit these documents to the presiding judicial officers by tomorrow, 5 PM.
Documents covered under para 3(iii)
Paragraph 3(iii) covers documents mentioned in:
(a) the ECI notification dated 27.10.2025 declaring commencement of SIR in West Bengal, read with the notification dated 24.06.2025;
(b) the Supreme Court’s order dated 08.09.2025 in W.P.(C) No. 640/2025, and subsequent orders, under which Aadhaar was allowed as identity proof subject to verification; and
(c) the Supreme Court’s order dated 19.01.2026 in the present petition, which permitted production of the Maadhyamik admit card along with the pass certificate.
