SC sets up judicial tribunals to hear Bengal SIR appeals

NEW DELHI: Exercising exclusive Art 142 powers, Supreme Court Tuesday ordered setting up of a tribunal comprising retired Chief Justice and ex-judges of Calcutta and neighbouring HCs to decide appeals against judicial officers' orders rejecting claims for inclusion in the Bengal voter list post special intensive revision.

A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi stuck to its order that no bureaucrat acting as ERO would sit in appeal against rulings of judicial officers drafted to scan documents of 60 lakh voters in 'logical discrepancy' and 'unmapped' category.




Cal HC CJ to nominate ex-CJ, judges: SC

SC gave a free hand to Calcutta HC CJ to nominate the former CJ and judges and directed EC to notify the tribunal in consultation with the HC CJ and the retired CJ.

The CJI-led bench took exception to a raft of applications of TMC supporters and private persons relating to SIR work and process, dismissed the applications, and warned of contempt action if such attempts are made in future.

SC was unhappy also over delay in creation of secure IDs for judicial officers by EC and said, “A stage has come where we have doubts about the bona fides of both the state govt and the EC.” It asked the EC to ensure that there was no delay in creating the IDs for the judicial officers to allow them to work without any delay.

The CJI said Calcutta HC CJ had informed SC that more than 500 judicial officers from Bengal and 200 from Jharkhand and Odisha had been working seven days a week and have disposed of more than 10 lakh claim applications.

At the commencement of hearing, senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy attempted to press for the applications in absence of an appellate forum for voters whose claims have been rejected by judicial officers. SC said, “As CJI, I will not permit anyone to dare question the work of judicial officers. I am issuing a warning.”

It was advocate Kalyan Banerjee who articulated the grievances and said when 10 lakh claims have been decided, why EC is not publishing supplementary voter list, as was directed by SC, containing the names of those whose claims have been accepted?

Banerjee also said that the rejection of claims must be accompanied by reasons to enable aggrieved person to appeal against it before a specified forum. The bench told both state govt and EC to facilitate the judicial officers, who are working as agents of SC, to carry out their work smoothly.

“We have taken great risk in assigning the SIR work to judicial officers, who are working tirelessly. But the risk is worth it as it (preparation of voter list) is very important for free and fair elections. Citizens have a constitutional right to get included in voter lists, but not intruders and illegal migrants,” the CJI said.
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