Expedite decision on lawyer’s plea on Bengal SIR: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday asked an appellate tribunal to expeditiously decide an appeal filed by an advocate challenging the deletion of his name from the voters’ list after the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice V Mohana noted that the petitioner appeared to be a bona fide resident of West Bengal.

The counsel appearing for the petitioner told the bench that the 75-year-old is an advocate for around five decades and he was a valid voter before the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise was carried out in the state.” You (petitioner) appear to be a bona fide resident of West Bengal. You know the mechanism which we have created,” the bench said.

The counsel said the petitioner had filed an appeal before the appellate tribunal against the deletion of his name, but it had not been decided yet.

The bench noted that the petitioner is stated to be an advocate in Murshidabad since 1977 and his name was deleted from the electoral rolls in the SIR exercise.

It disposed of the plea while requesting the appellate tribunal to decide his appeal expeditiously and preferably within two months.

Approximately 700 judicial officers from West Bengal and neighbouring Odisha and Jharkhand were deployed to deal with around 60 lakh claims and objections of those whose names were deleted from the voters’ list during the SIR exercise.

Later, at the direction of the top court, the chief justice of the Calcutta High Court set up 19 appellate tribunals headed by former high court chief justices and judges to decide appeals against deletion of names from the voters’ list.