Five SIR-deleted voters have asked the Supreme Court to get their appeals decided before the Kolkata and Howrah municipal elections in November. They say they were struck off West Bengal’s electoral rolls without a notice or a speaking order, and want an SIT to examine how the SIR decisions were made. These are the applicants’ claims; no hearing or order has been reported.
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New Delhi: Five people whose names were deleted from West Bengal’s electoral rolls after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) have moved the Supreme Court, through Advocate Prashant Bhushan, seeking expeditious disposal of their appeals pending before the Appellate Tribunals so that they can vote in the Kolkata and Howrah municipal corporation elections. They have filed the application in the West Bengal SIR matter, and have also asked for a Special Investigation Team to examine the SIR decision-making process and the original records behind it [West Bengal SIR Matter].
The report available to LawChakra does not mention a Bench, a case number, a listing date or any order on the application. The Election Commission’s response has not been reported.
The election clock
According to the application, the Kolkata and Howrah municipal corporation elections are scheduled for late November, and the electoral process is expected to be completed by December 7. Citing affidavits filed by the Election Commission of India, the applicants say about 1.7 lakh appeals are pending in Kolkata and Howrah alone, which is why they want those appeals taken up on priority.
How the applicants say they were deleted
The applicants say their names were deleted without any notice. They state that they filled in their enumeration forms and appeared in the draft rolls. In January, they say, they received notices and were summoned to hearings over alleged “logical discrepancies”, which they attended, but their names were marked “under adjudication”.
In April, they say, they learnt that their names had been deleted, with no speaking order from the judicial officers and no notice before the deletion. They filed their appeals before the Appellate Tribunals in the second week of April.
They also contend that the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, has issued no notification or order defining the criteria for “logical discrepancies” and has set up no adjudication mechanism for such cases. These are allegations in the application and have not been tested.
Re-enrolment and the earlier Assembly polls
Relying on a media report, the applicants say the Election Commission’s post-SIR re-enrolment exercise in West Bengal will not cover people whose exclusion appeals are still pending before the Tribunals. That, they argue, makes quick disposal of the Howrah and Kolkata appeals the only way for them to vote in the municipal polls. They also say voters were already disenfranchised once during the recent West Bengal Assembly elections.
Where matters stand
The application is a request for directions, not a ruling. The Supreme Court has not heard it, the Election Commission’s position on it has not been reported, and no view is expressed here on the correctness of the deletions or on the applicants’ prayer for an SIT.
Case Details: Application in the West Bengal SIR matter, filed by five SIR-deleted voters through Advocate Prashant Bhushan | Court: Supreme Court of India | Relief sought: expeditious disposal of pending appeals before the Appellate Tribunals (Kolkata and Howrah) ahead of the November municipal corporation elections; SIT into SIR decision-making and original records | Status: Filed; no hearing, Bench or order reported. Case number not reported. Allegations are the applicants’ own and untested.
Appearances: Advocate Prashant Bhushan, for the applicants (as filing counsel).