The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s plea related to the ongoing special intensive review (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state ahead of elections. Mamata Banerjee, who personally approached the Supreme Court bench, alleged widespread unauthorized voter suppression ahead of the assembly elections.
The court noted that the entire proceedings are governed by a strict time limit which has already been extended by 10 days, now only 4 days remain. “A week will be too late. The whole procedure has a timeline…we have extended it by 10 days…out of which only 4 days remain…then only 11 days remain. We cannot give the luxury of 1 week,” the court said, LiveLaw reported.
What the Supreme Court said:
In its order, the court issued a formal notice to the Election Commission (EC) and the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal on Mamat Banerjee’s plea regarding SIR; the next hearing is scheduled for February 9. Seeking a practical solution, the chief justice ordered the state to provide by Monday a list of Group B officers who may be spared to assist in the exercise.
Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing on behalf of Mamata Banerjee, argued that brief reasons should be given so that people understand why their names are not on the list.
To this, the CJI said, “Yes, to the extent one should know that he is fine… the only thing is the manner in which he is informed. We have been told that the list is not only a communication, but individual notices are given.”
When the Chief Minister pointed out that 58 lakh names had been deleted and “they had no recourse”, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant asked the EC to tell the officers to be sensitive.
Read also | Mamata vs EC over SIR: CM calls poll body ‘arrogant and dishonest’
“Probably once officers are available, micro observers will not be required. (To ECI) Also tell your officers to be sensitive and not send alerts to…” he said, reported Bar&Bench.
Mamata Banerjee’s counsel told the Supreme Court that in many cases, the names of people who have been issued notices for alleged logical irregularities are distorted and can be easily corrected. To this, the CJI said, “If Roy Dutta Ganguly etc. are left out… we don’t know how to pronounce Tagore, but that doesn’t mean Tagore is not Tagore.”
The court also suggested that the support team be well “well-versed in Bangla” as it appeared to be a “local dialect error”.
“In some cases it is apparent,” the court said.
The Chief Justice further said that “On January 19, Mr. Sibal (Kapil Sibal) explained the procedural difficulties faced by the state. After that, directions were issued, today some other issues are identified in your plea, every issue has a solution, we have to ensure that the solution comes and no innocent person is left out.”
“One of the objectives is to exclude the dead, then to exclude those who are disqualified … and then migrants, real persons must remain on the list,” the court said, adding, “but based on this kind of error, such persons cannot in good faith be omitted.”
As the court fixed the next day of hearing on Monday, it told the probing body to “send the notice carefully. You can’t mention eminent authors etc.”
(With input from Bar&Bench and LiveLaw)
