New Delhi, April 25 -- The Supreme Court on Friday applauded the over 92% voter turnout in the first phase of the West Bengal assembly elections, observing that democracy is strengthened when citizens actively exercise their right to vote. A bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, made the remarks while hearing a batch of petitions challenging the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. "As a citizen of India, I was very happy to see the percentage of people. people realise their power in democracy through their power to vote. So, when people exercise their right to vote, this strengthens the democratic set-up," said the CJI, calling the 92.25% turnout in Thursday's polling "good". The court also took note of the relative absence of violence during polling -- a recurrent concern in the state's electoral history. Justice Bagchi remarked that there had been "almost no incidents of violence", prompting the bench to underline the importance of peaceful democratic participation. "When people acknowledge their power in the ballot, they do not indulge in violence," observed the CJI as Solicitor General Tushar Mehta joined senior advocates Kalyan Bandopadhyay and Menaka Guruswamy, representing the petitioners in the case, in commending the turnout as "historic". The first phase of polling on Thursday covered 152 of the state's 294 assembly constituencies, including key regions in North Bengal as well as districts such as Murshidabad, Nadia, Birbhum and Hooghly. The phase is being closely watched for electoral trends, particularly in politically significant seats like Nandigram. Even as it acknowledged the robust participation, the bench refrained from intervening directly in grievances arising out of the SIR exercise, which has led to widespread deletions from the electoral roll. Senior advocate Kalyan Bandopadhyay pointed out that only a fraction of appeals -- 139 out of nearly 27 lakh, had been cleared to vote on Thursday, seeking urgent intervention. The court, however, directed parties to approach the Calcutta high court chief justice for administrative measures to expedite hearings. "We have already asked tribunals to take up such matters out of turn, keeping in mind the urgency," said the bench, reiterating that the appellate mechanism put in place must be utilised effectively. The SIR exercise has seen over 91 lakh names deleted from West Bengal's electoral roll, reducing the electorate by nearly 12% ahead of the elections. Districts such as Murshidabad, Nadia, Malda, Cooch Behar and Uttar Dinajpur have reported large-scale deletions, triggering legal challenges. Earlier, invoking its powers under Article 142, the top court had directed that voters whose appeals are allowed by appellate tribunals at least two days before polling be restored to the rolls through supplementary lists, enabling them to vote. In a related plea, some election duty officers approached the court claiming that their own names had been deleted from the rolls despite being assigned polling responsibilities. Senior advocate MR Shamshad submitted that around 65 officers were affected. The bench declined immediate relief, directing them to approach the appellate tribunals. "The more valuable right to remain on the rolls shall be preserved," said Justice Bagchi....