National Desk VOC
The Supreme Court of India has issued a firm directive ordering the Election Commission to publish West Bengal’s updated voter list by February 28, without granting any extension of the deadline.
In a significant move, the apex court has entrusted the responsibility of verifying discrepancies in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls to judicial officers appointed under the supervision of the Calcutta High Court.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Jaymalya Bagchi, and Justice Vipul M. Pancholi observed that a lack of coordination and trust exists between the West Bengal government and the Election Commission. To ensure neutrality and transparency, the court directed that current and former judicial officers be appointed as Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) to scrutinize all claims and objections related to the voter list.
The Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, Justice Sujoy Paul, has been instructed to deploy serving judges and retired Additional District Judges in every district to oversee the verification process. These judicial officers will resolve data inconsistencies arising during the SIR exercise, while the state government and the Election Commission will only provide logistical assistance.
The Supreme Court further clarified that the directions issued by these judicial officers shall be treated as orders of the apex court itself.
A high-level coordination meeting has been scheduled under the chairmanship of the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice. Participants will include representatives of the Election Commission, the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), the Chief Secretary, the Director General of Police (DGP), the Additional Solicitor General, and the Advocate General.
The bench emphasized that the voter list published by February 28 will not be considered final. Any unresolved discrepancies may be addressed later through supplementary lists, allowing additional names to be included where necessary.
However, the court cautioned that judicial officers cannot be engaged indefinitely in this exercise and directed the West Bengal government to extend full cooperation to the Election Commission to complete the task within the stipulated time frame.
The Supreme Court also sought a status report on incidents of violence linked to the SIR process in the state.
The ongoing conflict between the state government and the Election Commission primarily revolves around the deployment of Group B officers. The Commission has alleged that adequate personnel were not provided despite repeated requests, while the state government claimed that the matter remains “under consideration.”
Remarking sharply on the institutional standoff, the Chief Justice stated:
“Two constitutional authorities are blaming each other. There is a clear deficit of trust between them.”
National Desk : Voice of Cslcutta
