Will not allow anyone to create impediment: SC to States on SIR
The Supreme Court on Monday made it clear to the States that it will not allow anyone to create any impediment in completion of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls and directed the DGP of West Bengal to file an affidavit on the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) allegation of burning of its notices by miscreants.
Noting that West Bengal has provided a list of 8,505 Group B officers to the poll panel for the SIR exercise, the SC also extended the deadline for scrutiny of documents submitted by affected persons by one week beyond February 14 as this process is likely to take some time and to help electoral registration officers (EROs) to take appropriate decisions.
A bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and NV Anjaria said it would issue whatever orders or clarifications are required in the matter. “We will not allow anyone to create any impediment in the SIR exercise. It must be clear to the States,” the CJI said while hearing a batch of petitions, including the one filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, related to the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in the eastern State.In its additional affidavit, the ECI submitted that deliberate and systematic attempts are being made to derail, paralyse and frustrate the SIR exercise in West Bengal. Passing a slew of directions, the bench said the 8,505 Group B officers provided to the poll panel may be trained and employed in the SIR process.
It said the State must ensure that these 8,505 officers report for duty to the district electoral officer or ERO by 5 pm on Tuesday.The bench said the ECI shall have the discretion to replace existing ERO or assistant electoral registration officer and employ the services of these officers subject to their suitability.The bench took note of the affidavit filed by the ECI, which alleged violence and burning of its notices by some miscreants.
The bench then issued a show-cause notice to the DGP of West Bengal to file his personal affidavit on the statements made about the violence.During the hearing, senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for Banerjee, raised apprehensions about the appointment of micro-observers and mass exclusion of eligible voters in the SIR exercise. “We don’t want any mass exclusion,” Divan told the bench. He pointed to the draft roll having published and referred to the number of mapped and unmapped persons.
