Do we have nothing except Bengal SIR to hear, asks SC

NEW DELHI: Days after it criticised Bengal govt for frequently rushing to SC with 'vague and irrelevant' reasons to delay the ongoing SIR of the state's poll rolls, petitions by persons complaining against deletion of their names from voter lists saw the court finding itself facing the same issue, leading an exasperated bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi to ask, "Does the SC have nothing except WB SIR to hear?"

Appearing for the petitioners, senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy - recently nominated as TMC candidate for Rajya Sabha and who had addressed party protests against alleged unfair deletion of names during the SIR process - told the bench that there is no appeal provision against the deletion of names from voter lists which has left many remediless.




For the task of scrutinising documents submitted by 50 lakh voters under 'logical discrepancy' and 'unmapped' categories, SC had ordered deployment of judicial officers of poll-bound Bengal as well as Jharkhand and Odisha to expedite the SIR process.

Guruswamy said that requisite documents were submitted by the petitioners and yet their claims have been rejected. "Their names had figured in the previous voter lists and they had voted," she said, adding that under the Representation of People Act, those whose names are deleted have a right of appeal against the order of electoral registration officers (EROs). "But that is not available to the voters whose claims are rejected as the judicial officers had carried out the scrutiny," she said and pleaded for urgent listing of the petitions for a detailed hearing.

The bench said, "How can we allow bureaucrats (who are deputed to Election Commission to perform the task of EROs) to sit in appeal over the orders passed by our judicial officers? We cannot allow this." However, the bench agreed to take up these petitions along with the matters relating to WB SIR Tuesday.

On Feb 27, the court had told senior advocate Kapil Sibal, who had appeared for the state govt and objected to EC giving training to judicial officers, to advise the state not to rush to SC frequently.

It had said, "Please do not come to the court with vague reasons and try to delay the process. Every day there cannot be an irrelevant reason here and there. There must be an end to it. We went beyond our mandate (by using exclusive powers under Article 142 to direct deployment of judicial officers to carry out a task which is essentially in the EC domain). You are making unnecessary complaints."

Another set of persons, who are seeking citizenship under the Citizenship (Amendment) Act - which gives this privilege to members of persecuted minority communities in neighbouring countries who have entered India prior to Dec 31, 2014 - said their petitions are pending in SC and they are not being allowed to become voters in Bengal. SC directed this petition too to be listed along with Bengal SIR pleas.
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