West Bengal SIR: Supreme Court to hear plea against ECI's order to freeze electoral rolls on April 13

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday refused to grant urgent hearing on a fresh plea challenging the freezing of electoral rolls by the Election Commission of India ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls in West Bengal.

"We will consider the petition on April 13,” a bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi told a counsel, who mentioned the matter.

The lawyer urged that the plea against freezing of electoral rolls by the EC ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls, should be heard on an urgent basis.

The court said it would consider the petition on Monday, April 13, the date already fixed in WB SIR matter.

The lawyer said many appeals against deletions from the electoral rolls were still pending and the poll panel has frozen the rolls.

On April 9, the poll panel in its decision has frozen and finalised the electoral rolls for the Assembly seats which are going to polls in the first stage on April 23.

The Assembly elections in WB would be held in two phases on April 23 and 29. The result of the polls would be declared on May 4.