The Supreme Court on Friday ordered the appointment of serving or retired additional district judges as judicial officers to supervise the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, saying it was left with virtually no other option given the deepening trust deficit between the state government and the Election Commission of India (ECI).
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi said the appointed judicial officers would be selected by the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and would take over the functions of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).
“The foremost issue for consideration is completion of the ongoing SIR in West Bengal. 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 observed during the hearing.
The court’s intervention stems from a dispute over whether the Mamata Banerjee-led West Bengal government has provided adequate Group B officers of the rank of Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) to the poll body to serve as EROs. The state government, in turn, objected to the ECI’s reliance on micro-observers and special roll observers appointed by the commission.
Citing the “unfortunate blame game” between the two sides, the bench said it had little choice but to step in. “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,” the court stated, adding that these officers would revisit and dispose of pending claims under the category of logical discrepancy in each district, assisted by micro-observers and state-deputed officials.
Acknowledging that the order could affect pending court cases, the bench directed the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to work with the Committee of Registrar General and District Judges to prepare an interim arrangement for transferring urgent matters to alternate courts.
The Supreme Court also directed district collectors and Superintendents of Police to extend full logistical support to the appointed judicial officers and their teams to ensure smooth completion of the SIR process.
On the question of the voter list, the court permitted the ECI to publish the final list of voters on the scheduled date of February 28, to the extent the process stands completed, with the commission allowed to release supplementary lists thereafter. The Bengal Director General of Police has additionally been directed to file a supplementary affidavit detailing measures taken in response to complaints of threats against SIR officers.
The Bengal SIR has been a flashpoint between the state and the poll body for weeks. Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee appeared before the Supreme Court in person on February 4, alleging that the state was being targeted ahead of assembly elections, and urged the court to urgently halt voter name deletions particularly those falling under the logical discrepancy category. She also raised concerns over the workload being imposed on SIR officers. The ECI countered that the state was not cooperating in deploying officers for the exercise and flagged threats being faced by SIR personnel on the ground.
In a prior hearing, the top court had cautioned the Bengal government against placing any obstacles in the way of SIR completion, while also assuring it would address genuine procedural roadblocks.