Amid West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s concerns over a potential “mass exclusion” of voters in the state’s special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Supreme Court on Monday said it will not allow any obstruction to the process, PTI reported.
Here are the top five updates:
1. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and NV Anjaria said it would issue any necessary orders or clarifications in the matter.
2. “We will not allow anyone to create any hurdle in the exercise of SIR. It must be clear to the states,” the CJI said while hearing a number of petitions, including one filed by Banerjee, related to the ongoing SIR voter rolls in West Bengal.
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3. The bench took cognizance of the affidavit filed by the Election Commission (EC) which claimed that the burning of its notices by some miscreants. He directed the West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP) to file an affidavit in this regard.
4. The probe panel said that no FIR has been registered against the miscreants so far. “A message must be sent out that the Constitution of India applies to all states,” Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who appeared at the Centre, said, according to a PTI report.
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5. The Supreme Court noted that the West Bengal government had submitted a list of 8,505 Group B officers to the Election Commission, indicating that they could be trained and deployed for the SIR process.
6. The panel clarified that the final decisions on the revision of the electoral rolls will rest solely with the officials. The bench said that the mode of employment and job profile of these 8,505 officers will be decided by the jury.
7. During the hearing, Senior Advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for Banerjee, raised concerns about the appointment of micro-observers and mass exclusion of eligible voters in the SIR exercise. “We don’t want any mass expulsion,” Divan told the bench.
SC issues interim directions
8. Chief Justice Surya Kant said that to streamline the SIR process in West Bengal and address the concerns raised, the Supreme Court issued the following interim directions as reported by the Bar Association.
A. Let the State of West Bengal ensure that all the 8,555 Group B officers whose list has been forwarded today report to the District Electoral Officers (DROs) by 5:00 p.m.
b. The ECI will have the right to replace the existing ERÚ, AERO and use the services of the present if found qualified, the Bar and Bench said.
C. “After a brief examination of their bio-data, these state government officials may undergo a short day or two of training to work as micro-observers,” the CJI said, as quoted by the Bar and Bench.
Read also | EC revises timetable for SIR from Uttar Pradesh electoral roll, extends deadline
d. The responsibility assigned to micro-observers or state government officials is only to assist the ERO as the final decision will rest with the ERO, CJI Kant added.
E. Since a new set of government officials has been recruited, the process of vetting the documents submitted by the concerned persons is likely to take longer and as suggested on behalf of some petitioners, we direct that the ERO be given more time after February 14 to complete the review and take a decision, the Bar and Bench said, referring to the CJI.
(With inputs from PTI, Bar and Bench)
