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The Supreme Court has taken a tough stand with the Election Commission (ECI) over cases of deletion and addition of names from the voter list following the SIR (Special Review) process in West Bengal. The top court on Tuesday directed the Election Commission to furnish complete data of cases pending and disposed of before the appellate tribunal. The Court emphasized that it is essential that these matters related to the democratic rights of voters be resolved in a transparent manner within a stipulated time-frame.
Supreme Court keeps a strict eye on the functioning of the tribunal and pending cases
During the hearing, a bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana clearly asked the Election Commission what steps were being taken to make the mechanism for disposal of pending appeals more streamlined. The court has also sought information as to how many additional tribunals need to be constituted at present.
The bench ordered that the Election Commission file a detailed affidavit, covering the following points:
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Category wise classification of pending appeals.
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The total number of appeals filed by voters who were excluded or newly included in the electoral roll.
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Full details of cross-appeals.
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Assessment of the need for constitution of additional tribunals.
The side of the petitioners and the Election Commission
During the hearing, senior advocates appearing for the petitioners expressed concern that due to non-availability of information related to the status of appeals in the public domain, people are facing huge problems. In view of the upcoming elections, the concern increases that voters whose names have been removed from the list may be deprived of their franchise.
On the other hand, counsel for the Election Commission assured the court that the Commission is continuously coordinating with the Appellate Tribunal to make the entire process fast and transparent.