The Supreme Court refused to intervene in the deletion of election duty officers from West Bengal’s voter list, asking them to approach appellate tribunals. The Court said they may miss voting now, but their “more valuable right” to remain on the electoral rolls will be protected.
The Supreme Court of India on Friday refused to hear a petition filed by several individuals, including around 65 election duty officers, whose names were removed from the voter list during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. The Court advised them to approach the appellate tribunals that were specially created to handle such disputes.
The matter was heard by a Bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi. Senior Advocate MR Shamshad appeared on behalf of the petitioners and argued that the deletion of names was arbitrary and lacked proper reasoning.
He pointed out that many of the affected individuals were themselves on election duty and had valid EPIC numbers mentioned in their official duty orders.
“These are 65 petitioners who are on election duty. Their duty orders mention EPIC numbers. Now those numbers are deleted. Now the persons conducting elections cannot vote! This is, on the face arbitrary. Many not given reasons,”
he submitted before the Court.
However, the Bench declined to intervene at this stage and directed the petitioners to take their grievances to the appellate tribunals constituted under earlier Supreme Court directions. The Court made it clear that such forums are the appropriate authority to examine these disputes.
“Make these arguments before the appellate tribunal. Let the tribunal look into it,”
said CJI Kant.
Justice Bagchi also acknowledged the practical difficulty faced by those whose appeals are still pending, noting that they may not be able to vote in the ongoing State Assembly elections. However, he emphasized that their broader right to remain on the electoral roll would still be protected if their claims succeed.
“Appropriate orders will be passed by the tribunal .. This election yes perhaps they can’t vote. The more valuable right to remain on the rolls shall be preserved.”
Justice Bagchi said.
The issue arises from the Special Intensive Revision exercise conducted in multiple States, which has led to widespread disputes over large-scale deletion of voter names. In the case of West Bengal, tensions between the Election Commission of India and the State government led the Supreme Court to intervene earlier and assign the revision process to judicial officers from West Bengal, Odisha, and Jharkhand to ensure neutrality and transparency.
On February 20, the apex court had ordered the deployment of district judges and additional district judges, including retired judges, to oversee the revision process, citing a trust deficit between the authorities. Approximately 900 judicial officers were engaged for this task. By April 16, these officers had examined nearly 60 lakh objections, resulting in the exclusion of around 27 lakh names from the electoral rolls.
To address grievances arising from these deletions, the Supreme Court also directed the establishment of appellate tribunals. Around 19 such tribunals are currently functioning and are tasked with hearing appeals against the decisions made by the judicial officers. However, reports suggest that only 136 appeals have been decided so far, raising concerns about delays.
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Further, on April 13, the Court clarified that voters whose names are restored by appellate tribunals at least two days before polling would be allowed to vote in the elections. The West Bengal Assembly elections are being conducted in two phases, with the first phase held on April 23 and the second phase scheduled for April 29.
The Court’s refusal to entertain the plea highlights its stance that statutory remedies must be exhausted before seeking direct intervention. At the same time, the observations made by the Bench underline the importance of protecting the fundamental right to be included in the electoral rolls, even if immediate voting rights may be affected due to procedural delays.
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