SC seeks status of appeals against West Bengal SIR voter deletions

The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought details from the Election Commission of India (ECI) on the number of appeals disposed of by appellate tribunals hearing challenges to voter deletions following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.

A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana, said it wanted to assess the tribunals’ actual disposal rate rather than merely the number of appeals filed.

“Just filing an appeal is not enough. What is happening to the appeal also has to be seen,” Justice Bagchi said.

The Bench was hearing a petition concerning the functioning of the appellate tribunals constituted in West Bengal. Justice Bagchi said the Court’s immediate concern was the number of cases being decided by the tribunals, rather than whether individual voters had been deleted from the rolls.

The Court also suggested that the existing tribunal mechanism could be improved through measures such as online access for judges.

The Bench, however, declined to examine allegations that the deletion of names from the electoral rolls was being used to deny beneficiaries access to the public distribution system (PDS).

It said such a grievance constituted a separate cause of action and would have to be pursued before the Calcutta High Court.

“If you enlarge the scope of your petition to PDS, we will not be able to entertain it,” Justice Bagchi said.

Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, appearing for the ECI, sought a listing on August 25 alongside related pending matters. The Court allowed the request.

The issue assumes significance as a large number of voters were excluded from West Bengal’s electoral rolls following the SIR exercise, with several challenging their exclusion before the appellate tribunals.

In May, the Supreme Court upheld the ECI’s authority to undertake the SIR exercise, while clarifying the limits of its power to determine citizenship.

It held that the ECI could examine citizenship only for deciding eligibility for inclusion in electoral rolls and, where necessary, refer cases to the competent central government authority for adjudication in accordance with law.