West Bengal SIR: SC asks tribunals to grant out-of-turn hearing to voters seeking inclusion in electoral rolls

New Delhi [India], April 24 : The Supreme Court on Friday directed Appellate Tribunals to grant out-of-turn hearings to cases of persons excluded from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal, particularly in matters where urgency is demonstrated by the appellants ahead of the ongoing Assembly elections.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant also granted liberty to excluded persons to approach the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court with their grievance.

"We grant liberty to the petitioners and other stakeholders to approach the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court on the administrative side. Similarly, if the matters require judicial intervention, they may approach the Chief Justice of the High Court. As regards those names who have been excluded in SIR and those who have filed appeals before the Appellate Tribunal, the Tribunal may grant them out-of-turn hearing of appeals, especially to appellants who are able to prove urgency", the Court noted.

During the hearing, Senior Advocate Kalyan Banerjee, representing the West Bengal government, submitted that only 136 appeals have been disposed of out of nearly 27 lakh cases and said that the State was expecting faster disposal of appeals.

After the order was passed, Banerjee informed the Court that voter turnout this time was around 96 per cent, among the highest in the state, adding that migrant workers had returned to their hometowns to cast their votes. He said many feared that failure to vote could lead to exclusion from the rolls in the future.

Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted with satisfaction that the polling had been peaceful this time, observing that democratic participation must be encouraged without violence. "This country needs people to participate. We do not want blood," he remarked.

CJI Surya Kant also agreed and said, "When people realise their power of vote in a democracy with such participation and 97% voting. Because they realise the strength that lies in their voting right and not in violence or fighting"

In a separate case on SIR, the Supreme Court has refused to entertain pleas seeking the Court's intervention on the issue of the alleged exclusion of certain persons deputed in the Election duty from the voter rolls in the West Bengal Assembly election. Counsel representing them informed a bench led by CJI Surya Kant that even persons conducting elections cannot vote.

"Please raise the problem before the Appellate Tribunal. We can't change our orders every day," said the CJI, to which Justice Joymalya Bagchi remarked that, regardless of whether they will be able to vote this year or not, their more valuable right to remain on the rolls would be examined by the Court.

The total number of voters in West Bengal stands at 7,04,59,284 voters (7.04 crore) without adding the names under adjudication, as compared to 7,66,37,529 (7.66 crore) before the SIR exercise. This shows a change of more than 61 lakh names in the list. Reportedly, about 27 lakh names were deleted in the process of adjudication.

Meanwhile, the polling for Phase I of the Assembly elections in West Bengal concluded at 6 pm on Thursday, with West Bengal recording a significantly higher voter turnout of 91.83 per cent, according to the Election Commission of India.

The high turnout figures underline an active electoral exercise as polling drew to a close amid tight security arrangements across 152 of 294 constituencies.

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