The Supreme Court directed the West Bengal government and Election Commission to provide logistical support to judicial officers conducting the special intensive revision of electoral rolls, noting they have handled over 10.16 lakh objections and claims regarding voter deletions.
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court directed the West Bengal government and the Election Commission to extend full logistical support to judicial officers engaged in the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls in the state.
A three-judge bench, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi, noted that the judicial officers involved in the SIR process have handled 10.16 lakh objections and claims related to individuals potentially being removed from the electoral rolls.
The bench instructed the Election Commission to ensure that no compulsory measures are introduced that could disrupt the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process without the approval of the Calcutta High Court’s chief justice.
It stated that any technical issues with the Election Commission’s portal should be addressed promptly to avoid such disruptions.
The bench also requested that new login IDs for judicial officers be created swiftly to facilitate the smooth revision of electoral rolls.
Moreover, the Court emphasized that the decisions made by judicial officers should not be subject to appeal by any administrative officials from the Election Commission.
The bench proposed that the chief justice of the high court could establish a panel of former chief justices and high court judges to handle appeals and instructed the Election Commission to issue a notification for setting up an appellate body to address appeals against the decisions of judicial officers in the SIR process.
This hearing was part of a series of pleas related to the ongoing SIR exercise in the state.
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