THE JHARKHAND STORY DESK
New Delhi, March 10: The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the formation of Appellate Tribunals comprising former High Court Chief Justices and High Court judges to hear appeals against exclusions in the West Bengal Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The direction came after concerns were raised about the absence of an independent appellate mechanism for persons whose claims are rejected during the SIR verification process.
Calcutta HC CJ to recommend members
The court said the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court may request former Chief Justices and two or three former High Court judges—preferably from the Calcutta High Court or neighbouring states—to serve on the appellate tribunals.
Once recommended, the Election Commission of India (ECI) will notify them as appellate tribunals to hear appeals arising from the SIR process. The Calcutta High Court Chief Justice will decide the number of members in each tribunal bench.
The court also said the honorarium for tribunal members would be fixed by the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice in consultation with the ECI, which will bear the expenses.
Over 10 lakh objections already disposed
The Supreme Court noted a communication from the Calcutta High Court stating that around 10.16 lakh objections had been disposed of by March 9.
Nearly 500 judicial officers from West Bengal and about 200 from Odisha and Jharkhand have been deployed for the exercise and are working continuously to complete the process.
Around 700 login IDs were also created to facilitate the mobilisation of judicial officers in sensitive districts.
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Court flags logistical issues
The court observed that judicial officers were facing logistical and technical problems, apparently at the level of the Election Commission.
Senior advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, appearing for the ECI, assured the bench that the issues would be resolved promptly.
The court asked the ECI to provide full logistical support to the Calcutta High Court and judicial officers, while directing the West Bengal government to provide necessary facilities.
Court warns against questioning judicial officers
During the hearing, the bench expressed displeasure over an application questioning the competence of judicial officers appointed to adjudicate SIR claims.
Chief Justice Surya Kant remarked that the court was “doubting the bona fides of both sides”, referring to the disputes between petitioners and the Election Commission.
The court also refused to entertain two new petitions filed by individuals claiming they were illegally excluded from the voter list, granting them liberty to pursue the appellate remedies instead.
Background
The Supreme Court had earlier directed the deployment of judicial officers from West Bengal, Odisha and Jharkhand to adjudicate claims and objections in the SIR process amid a trust deficit between the West Bengal government and the Election Commission of India.
The final voter list of West Bengal was published on February 28, with around 63 lakh names deleted, while over 60 lakh names were still under adjudication.