SIR in Bengal: EC faces hurdles in setting up tribunals for deleted voters

Kolkata, Apr 1 (PTI) With less than six days left for deleted voters to get eligibility to cast votes in the first phase of West Bengal polls, the EC faces fresh hurdles in setting up specially constituted tribunals, the final recourse for such electors to dispose of their cases, a well-placed source in the poll body said.

The official said infrastructure constraints may prevent the tribunals from starting operations on Thursday, the day the Election Commission (EC) had previously scheduled for initiating the process, potentially delaying resolution of cases that run into several lakh names.

A few retired judges appointed to the tribunals have also sought exemptions from duty, further postponing the start of hearings, he added.

“While applications

can be submitted, the tribunals cannot begin disposal without proper infrastructure in place,” the official told PTI, adding that around 45 per cent of the 47.4 lakh under adjudication applicants, which is over 21 lakh names, were deleted till March 31 following the publication of the post-SIR rolls on February 28.

Of the 60 lakh-odd names referred for adjudication, some 13 lakh cases remain to be disposed of.

The deleted voters in the SIR of the electoral rolls published so far, including those deleted in the February 28 rolls, are eligible to apply for inclusion in the voters’ list before the tribunals.

Voters found eligible in the tribunals before the last date of filing nominations, which is April 6 for the first phase of polling on April 23 and April 9 for the second phase on April 29, would be allowed to vote in the upcoming elections.

For administrative purposes, the Diamond Harbour Road office of the Shyama Prasad Mukherjee Institute of Water and Sanitation has been chosen as the primary venue of the proposed tribunals, initially for a period of eight weeks.

Sources said the EC requested 21 chambers to handle tribunal work, with retired Calcutta High Court judges overseeing the cases.

Earlier in the day, the Supreme Court expressed optimism over the progress in the disposal of pending SIR cases in Bengal, taking note of two communications received from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court updating the progress of the exercise.

Around 705 judicial officers, including about 100 each from Odisha and Jharkhand, are working to resolve the under-scrutiny unmapped and logical discrepancy cases, with approximately 1.75 to 2 lakh applications being disposed of daily.

Following a Supreme Court directive, the state had notified the formation of 19 appellate tribunals across all districts to hear pending voter-related cases.

Applications can be submitted at the offices of all DMs and SDOs, as well as BDO offices, both online and offline.

Applicants were informed that hearings could be conducted either in-person or virtually, with dates communicated in advance. PTI SCH SMY MNB