'No...choice': SC forced to appoint judicial officers for Bengal SIR
What's the story
The Supreme Court, in an extraordinary move, has ordered the deployment of judicial officers, including retired judges, to oversee the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. The decision was taken after observing a lack of cooperation between the state and the Election Commission of India. "There is an unfortunate blame game of allegations and counter allegations which shows trust deficit between two constitutional functionaries," Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipin Pancholi noted.
Judicial aid
Process is stuck at the stage of claims and objections
"Now the process is stuck at the stage of claims and objections of the persons who have been included in the logical discrepancy list. Most of the persons to whom notices were issued have submitted their documents in support of their claim for inclusion in the voter list," the bench said. "These claims are required to be adjudicated in a quasi-judicial process by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs)," the court said.
Step
Officers will perform the function of EROs
The bench said it was left with no choice but to involve the state judiciary for concluding the SIR. The judicial officers will perform the function of EROs. The court took the action in light of the disagreement over whether the state had given the ECI enough Group B officers in the rank of SDM to function as EROs. The state, on the other hand, objected to the ECI relying on micro-observers and special roll observers it had appointed.
Officer competence
What the order said
The bench passed the following order: "In order to ensure fairness...we are left with hardly any other option but to request Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court to spare some serving judicial officers along with some former judicial officers in the rank of Additional District Judge or District Judges who can then in each district aid in dispose or revisit the claims under the logical discrepancy list." "Each officer shall be assisted by the ECI and officials of State government."
Courts
Order may impact hearing of normal court cases
While passing the order, the court acknowledged that this direction may have an impact on the hearing of normal court cases because judges' time will be taken up because of the SIR exercise. The top court then directed that the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice, along with a committee of judges, the Registrar General, and the chief district judges, make the decision to transfer interim relief cases to another court for a week or 10 days.
Mamata
CM moved top court
Following the completion of the SIR process in Bihar last year, the ECI extended the SIR to other states, including Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu. This resulted in many petitions challenging the decision. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee also moved the court, seeking a direction that the polls be conducted based on the existing rolls prepared last year. She also requested an urgent directive to stop the removal of voters from the electoral rolls, particularly those in "Logical Discrepancy" category.
Court
'They only targeted Bengal on the eve of elections'
On February 4, Banerjee appeared in person before the court, arguing that the ECI targeted the state just ahead of the assembly elections this year. "They only targeted Bengal on the eve of elections. What was the hurry? What takes two years is being done in three months even when festival, harvesting season is there," Banerjee said.