Bengal SIR: Supreme Court asks tribunals to accord urgent hearing on pleas against deletion from voter list

The Supreme Court has asked the appellate tribunals to give out-of-turn hearing to those who make out a case of urgent hearing against removal from voter lists after the special intensive revision (SIR) of rolls in West Bengal.

The bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, was hearing a batch of petitions, including the one filed by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee related to the SIR of electoral rolls in the state.

The CJI also expressed happiness over the high voter turnout in the first phase of West Bengal assembly polls.

West Bengal registered a record voter turnout of 92.72 per cent in the first phase of voting for 152 constituencies held on Thursday.

"As a citizen of India, I was very happy to see the voting percentage. When people exercise the right to vote, this strengthens democratic set up," the CJI said.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta also hailed the high voter turnout besides commending the role of central forces in ensuring peaceful elections in the state which has a history of violence-hit elections in the past.

The top court also asked the persons excluded from the voter lists to approach the court-appointed 19 appellate tribunals for redressal of pending issues, including the deletion of names from the voters list.

It asked the appellate tribunals to give out-of-turn hearing to those who make out a case of urgent hearing for addition in voter lists.

On the issue of exclusion or inclusion in the voter lists, the CJI also granted the liberty to aggrieved persons to also approach the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice on the administrative as well as judicial side for redressal of grievances.

"Most issues have been comprehensively answered by our April 13 order. However we can understand that some issues would keep on arising on a day-to-day basis warranting attention of the High Court Chief Justice or the Appellate Tribunal. Liberty is given to approach the Chief Justice on the administrative side for redressal of pending issues,” the bench said in its order.

Earlier, the top court ordered that persons, whose pleas were allowed by the Appellate Tribunals before April 21 or 27, must be permitted to vote in the first or second phase of elections respectively.

It, however, had clarified that mere pendency of appeal before the appellate tribunals would not give anyone a right to vote.

Approximately 700 judicial officers from West Bengal and neighbouring Odisha and Jharkhand were deployed to deal with around 60 lakh claims and objections of those who were deleted from voter lists during the SIR of electoral rolls in the state.

Later, the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, at the direction of the top court, set up as many as 19 tribunals headed by former HC chief justices and judges to decide appeals against deletions of names of persons from the voters' lists.

During the hearing, Justice Bagchi said the bench will examine the more valuable right to remain on electoral rolls later.

Senior advocate and TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee also hailed the record voter turn in the first phase of assembly elections and said they came out from every corner of the country to vote fearing that they may be removed from the electoral rolls if they fail to cast it this time.

He also referred to the fact that so far only 139 claims or appeals of those, who have been deleted from the voter lists, have been decided by the appellate tribunals. There are 27 lakh such people waiting for the hearing, he added.

(With PTI inputs)