New Delhi, June 24 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday declined to grant an urgent hearing on a plea challenging West Bengal government orders that link welfare benefits to exclusions from electoral rolls following the special intensive revision (SIR) exercise, asking the petitioner instead to approach the Calcutta High Court. A bench of Justices BV Nagarathna and Joymalya Bagchi observed that the challenge raised an independent cause of action concerning eligibility for welfare schemes and public distribution benefits, making the high court the appropriate forum to consider the matter in the first instance. The plea was mentioned by advocate Prasanna S on behalf of Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity, an agricultural workers' union, which has challenged a June 4 order issued by the West Bengal Food and Supplies Department and a May 19 notification of the Department of Women and Child Development and Social Welfare. According to the petition, both measures link beneficiary status under the Public Distribution System (PDS) and the Annapurna Yojana to classifications generated during the SIR exercise, including categories such as "dead", "shifted", "deleted" and "absentee" electors. The petitioner contended that the linkage could potentially render between 3.5 million and 6 million ration cards inactive if implemented mechanically by the State government....