The Supreme Court places Bengal SIR under judicial supervision 

On Friday, the Supreme Court ordered that more district judges, either current or past, be appointed as judicial officers to supervise Bengal’s ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The bench noted a lack of trust between the Bengal administration and the Election Commission of India and stated that the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court would choose the officers. It added that it had no other option.

“The foremost issue for consideration is completion of the ongoing SIR in West Bengal. Various interim directions are issued from time to time. There is an unfortunate allegation/counter-allegation which clearly depicts a trust deficit between two constitutional functionaries – democratically elected state government and the ECI,” the bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said during the hearing.

The “unfortunate blame game” between the two sides, according to the Supreme Court, forced it to take this action. The action was conducted because of a disagreement over whether the Bengal government had given the poll body enough Group B personnel at the rank of SDM to serve as Electoral Register personnel (EROs). The ECI’s reliance on special roll observers and micro-observers chosen by Mamata Banerjee’s administration was criticized. The bench declared that the judicial officers would carry out the EROs’ duties.

“In order to ensure fairness in the adjudication of documents and consequential determination of inclusion/exclusion on the voter list, and as agreed to by both sides, we are left with hardly any other option but to request the CJI of Calcutta HC to spare some serving judicial officers along with some former judicial officers of integrity in the rank of additional district judge…who can then in each district revisit/dispose of pending claims under category of logical discrepancy. Each such officer shall be assisted by micro-observers and officers of the state government who have already been deputed by the state for such duties,” the Supreme Court said.

The bench acknowledged during the hearing that the instruction might have an effect on ongoing legal proceedings. In order to prepare a “interim arrangement” for the transfer of cases requiring immediate relief to other courts, it requested that the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court enlist the assistance of the Committee of Registrar General and District Judges.

For the designated judicial officials and their teams to successfully complete the ongoing SIR procedure, the Supreme Court mandated that collectors and the superintendent of police assist and provide all logistical support.As long as the procedure is finished, the Court permitted the final voter list to be published on February 28.

According to the Court, the ECI may provide more listings after the deadline. The Bengal DGP has also been requested to submit a follow-up affidavit detailing the actions taken in response to many threats against SIR officials. As long as the procedure is finished, the bench permitted the final voters’ list to be released on February 28 as planned. It further stated that the Election Commission may release further lists following the deadline.

With Chief Minister and leader of the Trinamool Congress, Mamata Banerjee, going before the top court in a hearing on February 4, the Bengal SIR has become a subject of dispute between the state and the electoral body.

She had raised a number of concerns, claiming that months prior to the assembly elections, Bengal was singled out, and she demanded an immediate stop to the removal of voter names, particularly those falling under the “logical discrepancy” category. Banerjee also mentioned the SIR officers’ extreme workload. The Election Commission, on the other hand, pointed out the threats to the officers and asserted that the state was not assisting in providing police for the process. 

While promising to address the real obstacles in the process, the top court warned the Bengal government in a previous hearing not to create any “impediments” to the completion of the SIR.