Supreme Court of India rejects relief for deleted voters in West Bengal SIR process
&imwidth=600&imheight=450&format=webp&quality=medium "Supreme Court of India rejects relief for deleted voters in West Bengal SIR process")
Representative image. Photograph: (ANI)
Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee said during the proceedings that at least 1.6 million appeals have been filed, and they must be given a chance to vote in the two-phase assembly election in West Bengal.
The Supreme Court of India has refused to grant interim voting rights to those whose names were deleted amid the voter roll clean-up process, special intensive revision (SIR) and whose appeals are still awaited in front of the appellate tribunals.
During the proceedings, Trinamool Congress leader Kalyan Banerjee stated that at least 1.6 million appeals have been filed, and they must be given a chance to vote in the two-phase assembly election in West Bengal, according to a report by news agency PTI.
In response, Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said, "That is entirely out of the question. If we were to permit this, then the voting rights of the individuals involved would have to be suspended."
Millions of appeals in SIR exercise
Justice Joymalya Bagchi confirmed that there are 3.4 million appeals in the SIR exercise, adding that a report submitted by the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice clearly indicates this data. The Election Commission of India has finalised the voter list in West Bengal, meaning no new names can be added before the election unless the Supreme Court of India issues a specific order, which it did not do in this case.
To handle disputes, 19 appellate tribunals have been established in the Bangladesh-bordering state to review around 2.7 million cases involving deleted names. The Supreme Court’s direction came after 13 individuals challenged the removal of their names from the voter list. The court termed their plea “premature” and advised them to seek relief through the appellate tribunals instead.
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"Since the petitioners (Quaraisha Yeasmin and others) have already approached the appellate tribunals… in our considered view, the apprehensions expressed in the petition are premature. If the plea is allowed, then necessary consequences will follow," the bench said in its order, and added that it has not expressed any opinions on the merits of the plea. The petitioners also alleged that the Election Commission was removing names without due process and that appeals were not being addressed promptly.
