In a significant order in the West Bengal Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, the Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed Appellate Tribunals, which are scheduled to start hearing appeals against exclusion from the electoral rolls, to accept fresh documents, subject to verification of their authenticity, providing relief to thousands of voters whose names were deleted during the revision process.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul Pancholi modified its earlier direction, which had stated that the Appellate Tribunals should not entertain fresh documents that were not produced before the adjudicating officer.
Modifying the order, the court clarified that fresh documents may be accepted, but only after verifying their genuineness.
19 Appellate Tribunals notified, hearings to be held in Kolkata
The court was informed by the Election Commission of India (ECI) that 19 Appellate Tribunals headed by former High Court Chief Justices and Judges have been notified to hear appeals arising out of the revision exercise. The sittings of these tribunals will be held at the Dr Shyama Prasad Mukherjee National Institution of Water and Sanitation in Kolkata, and necessary permissions have already been taken.
The bench was also told that nearly 47 lakh out of the 60 lakh claims and objections have already been disposed of by judicial officers who were entrusted with adjudicating the claims.
The Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court informed the Supreme Court that judicial officers are currently deciding nearly two lakh objections every day and are expected to clear the remaining claims by April 7.
The Supreme Court had earlier ordered the deployment of judicial officers from West Bengal and neighbouring states to adjudicate claims and objections after a dispute arose between the Election Commission and the state government over the deputation of government officials for the revision exercise. The court later directed the constitution of Appellate Tribunals headed by former High Court judges to hear appeals against the decisions of the adjudicating officers.
Reasons for deletion must be shared with voters
The court also observed that Appellate Tribunals must have access to the reasons recorded by adjudicating officers while deciding whether a person’s name should be included or deleted from the electoral rolls, and such reasons must be supplied to the parties concerned.
Justice Joymalya Bagchi noted that the software used in the revision process contains a field for remarks where officers record reasons while deciding whether a logical discrepancy justified deletion or whether inclusion should be allowed. He observed that whenever an appeal is filed either by a voter who has been excluded or by the ECI challenging an inclusion, the reasons recorded must be supplied to the concerned person.
The bench further observed that tribunals have the power to correct both wrongful exclusions and wrongful inclusions. Justice Bagchi remarked that even if a person is excluded and unable to vote in the present election, the tribunal can later restore the person’s name if the exclusion is found to be unjustified. Similarly, if a person has been wrongly included and votes in the election, the tribunal can still examine the issue and take corrective steps.
Court flags issue of bulk Form 6 applications
During the hearing, petitioners raised concerns regarding bulk Form 6 applications being filed for fresh voter registrations. The court, however, said it could not act merely on oral submissions without any material being placed on record. The bench also orally observed that voters included after the qualifying date fixed by the Election Commission would not be entitled to vote in the upcoming election.
Order gives a second opportunity to deleted voters
The order is significant because a large number of voters whose names were deleted had argued before the court that they were unable to submit proper documents during the initial adjudication process due to short timelines, lack of notice or technical issues.
By allowing fresh documents before the Appellate Tribunals, the court has effectively opened a second opportunity for such voters to establish their eligibility, while at the same time ensuring that the verification process remains strict. The direction that reasons for deletion must be supplied to voters is also expected to bring greater transparency to the revision process, which has become politically contentious in the state.
The bench was hearing a batch of petitions, including one filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, challenging aspects of the SIR exercise, particularly the categorisation of certain voters under the logical discrepancy list, which has led to large-scale deletions from the electoral rolls.
On the previous date of hearing, the Chief Justice of India had orally observed that the Special Intensive Revision was conducted smoothly across the country except in West Bengal. The court had noted that although similarly complex issues existed in other states, the revision exercise had been completed there without major disputes.
The bench had also indicated that the responsibility for managing logistical aspects of the process had been entrusted to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and advised parties to bring specific operational difficulties to the court’s attention if such issues persisted.
The Supreme Court is continuing to monitor the revision process in view of the large number of claims and objections and the significance of the electoral roll revision ahead of the upcoming elections. The hearing is slated for April 6.