NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on Friday criticised the West Bengal government for frequently moving the court with what it termed “vague and irrelevant” grounds to delay the completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state’s electoral rolls. To fast-track the exercise, the apex court has already deployed judicial officers from Jharkhand and Odisha.
Chief Justice Surya Kant observed that the state should refrain from filing repeated pleas that hamper the process. “Please do not come to the court with vague reasons and try to delay the process. Every day there cannot be an irrelevant reason here and there. There must be an end to it. We went beyond our mandate (by invoking Article 142) to direct deployment of judicial officers for a task essentially within the Election Commission’s domain. You are making unnecessary complaints,” he said.
The remarks came after senior advocate Kapil Sibal alleged before the bench, also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi, that Election Commission (EC) officials were conducting training sessions for judicial officers deployed by the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice, including guidance on which voter documents should be accepted. Sibal argued that this contravened the Supreme Court’s direction that modalities would be decided by the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice.
However, the bench rejected the allegation, clarifying that its order empowered the High Court Chief Justice to decide the deployment of judicial officers and logistical arrangements, while the officers themselves would independently adjudicate pending claims and assess the validity of submitted documents. “When we said the HC CJ will decide the modalities, we meant deployment and facilities. The judicial officer alone will decide the pending claims and validity of documents,” the bench said.
Justice Bagchi added that training by EC officials was natural and necessary. “If EC officials do not provide training to judicial officers, who else will? Our order is as clear as daylight. We assigned them an unusual responsibility to expedite SIR. Both the state government and the EC must create a congenial atmosphere for them to function,” he observed.
Sibal also informed the court that the state’s chief secretary was present, stating that her own voting rights were allegedly under scrutiny by the EC. The bench responded that the chief secretary should coordinate with the EC and judicial officers to ensure timely completion of the SIR.
Raising another issue, Sibal urged that the EC publish supplementary voter lists after the final roll is released on February 28, as and when clusters of voters’ names are approved for inclusion by judicial officers.
The court reiterated that the SIR process would proceed strictly in accordance with its earlier directions, including clear guidelines on the documents to be accepted during scrutiny of claims.
