National Desk : VOC

In a significant development in the SIR voter list case, the Supreme Court of India has directed the formation of a tribunal to hear petitions related to names placed under “adjudication” in the voter list revision process. The tribunal will consist of retired judges of the Calcutta High Court.

Full Report (Exclusive):

The matter came up for hearing on Tuesday before a bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant. During the proceedings, lawyers representing the petitioners raised two key issues before the court.

The first issue concerned the legal remedy available if a judicial officer removes a person’s name from the voter list. The second related to the publication of a supplementary voter list.

On the first issue, the apex court referred to its earlier order dated February 24. In that ruling, the court had clearly stated that the decision of a judicial officer cannot be challenged through any administrative or executive authority. In other words, once a judicial officer removes a name from the voter list, the Election Commission will not have the power to reconsider that decision.

Considering the situation that has arisen in West Bengal, the court directed that a tribunal be constituted to hear such challenges.

According to the order, the tribunal will comprise a retired Chief Justice or retired judges of the Calcutta High Court. The structure of the tribunal and the names of its members will be decided by the Chief Justice of the High Court, Sujay Paul.

Once the names are finalized, the Chief Justice will inform the Election Commission of India, which will then issue a gazette notification from the Election Sadan to formally constitute the tribunal.

The Supreme Court also clarified the issue of publishing a supplementary voter list. It said that the Election Commission may release such a list in accordance with directions issued by the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. The court further observed that the supplementary list can be published even up to the day before polling.

Court sources said that around one million adjudication cases related to voter names have already been resolved so far. The tribunal is expected to handle the remaining disputes.

National Desk : Voice of Calcutta