The Supreme Court heard petitions on Monday regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, which is set to go to polls later this month. The case was heard by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. On April 10, the Bench agreed to hear a new petition along with other pending pleas challenging the Election Commission’s decision to freeze electoral rolls ahead of the Assembly elections scheduled for April 23 and April 29.
The SC observed that the Election Commission of India (ECI) created a “logical discrepancy” by preparing a list of doubtful voters only during the SIR of electoral rolls in West Bengal. Justice Joymalya Bagchi, who was part of the Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, said that voters in the state are now caught between different constitutional authorities.
The remark came after the Election Commission of India (ECI) informed the court that 47 percent of the cases were rejected by judicial officers who reviewed the notices issued by the poll body.
“It’s not end justifying means but means justifying the end. This is not a fight between State and Election Commission. This is not a blame game. It is about voter being sandwiched between two constitutional authorities. Courts have intervened only to promote elections and not interdict it,” Bar and Bench reported, quoting Justice Bagchi, as saying.
Electoral rolls frozen ahead of first phase
The Election Commission had frozen and finalised the voter lists on April 9 for constituencies voting in the first phase. This means that anyone whose name was removed during the SIR process cannot be added back to the list for the upcoming elections.
The Bench will also hear a suo motu case concerning the alleged ‘gherao’ and illegal confinement of seven judicial officers involved in the SIR exercise in Malda district.
Assembly elections in West Bengal will take place in two phases on April 23 and April 29, while the counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
Over 61 lakh voters removed after revision
After the revision of voter rolls, the Election Commission published the final voter lists on February 28, showing that more than 61 lakh voters had been removed.
However, the process continued as around 60 lakh “doubtful and pending” cases were still under review after objections were raised to exclusions in the draft rolls released in December.
On February 20, the Supreme Court directed that judicial officers of the rank of district judge or additional district judge be appointed to help complete the revision process.
Later, on March 10, the court ordered the creation of appellate tribunals made up of former High Court chief justices and judges to hear appeals against voter exclusions. Anyone whose request to be included in the voter list was rejected by a judicial officer could approach these tribunals.
With the voter lists now frozen, no deleted names can be restored before the elections, PTI reported.
Fresh petition heard alongside pending cases
On Friday, a Bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant heard a fresh petition along with several pending cases challenging the freezing of electoral rolls.
“We will consider the petition on April 13,” PTI quoted the chief justice as saying.
According to Election Commission data cited by The Statesman, nearly 91 lakh voters were removed from West Bengal’s voter lists during the revision process.
This accounts for about 11.9% of the state’s total electorate of 7.6 crore before the revision began.
The revision exercise ended after judicial officers reviewed claims and objections. However, voters who were removed still have the option to appeal in 19 tribunals set up for this purpose.