West Bengal SIR | SC pushes SIR disputes to Calcutta HC as appeal backlog mounts

Today, a Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V.M. Pancholi declined to entertain fresh grievances arising from exclusions in the West Bengal Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. It directed parties to approach the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court for appropriate relief.

The Court also heard pleas from persons seeking permission to vote despite their appeals against exclusion from the rolls being pending before the appellate tribunal. At the outset, Justice Bagchi noted that the issue of pending appeals had already been addressed in earlier orders. Senior Advocate M.R. Shamshad, appearing for petitioners, submitted that 65 petitioners were on election duty but were unable to vote after deletion of their EPIC numbers. He further contended that in several cases, no show-cause notice had been issued prior to exclusion, raising concerns about the manner in which deletions had taken place.

In the main matter, Senior Advocate Kalyan Banerjee submitted that only 136 appeals had been disposed of out of nearly 27 lakhs. “This is very sad,” he said, pressing for immediate steps to ensure speedy disposal. The Bench, however, indicated it would not step in at this stage. “Please approach the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court,” the CJI said.

Recording its order, the Court observed that most issues had already been comprehensively dealt with in its 13 April order but acknowledged that fresh concerns may arise on a day-to-day basis. It granted liberty to approach the Chief Justice of the High Court for redressal of such issues. As regards those excluded from electoral rolls who have filed appeals, the Court noted that it had already directed appellate tribunals to take up cases out of turn where urgency is made out. . The Bench clarified that if any matter requires judicial intervention, affected persons may approach the High Court.

The hearing unfolded against the backdrop of an ongoing two-phase election in West Bengal, with the first phase held on 23 April and the second scheduled for 29 April. Banerjee pointed to a striking voter turnout of around 92 percent in the first phase, attributing it to large numbers of migrant workers returning to cast their votes and the absence of major incidents of violence. Justice Bagchi acknowledged the significance of the turnout, while CJI Surya Kant remarked, “As a citizen of India, I was very happy to see the voting percentage,” adding that when people exercise their franchise, it strengthens the democratic set-up.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta described the turnout as “historical” and noted that the polling had remained largely peaceful, crediting security forces for maintaining order. When Banerjee suggested that fears of deletion from electoral rolls may have driven voter participation, Mehta urged the Court not to go into the reasons behind voter behaviour in these proceedings. 

As the hearing came to a close, the otherwise charged courtroom briefly lightened, with Banerjee extending an invitation to D.S. Naidu, appearing for the Election Commission of India (ECI) to join him for dinner in Kolkata on the evening of 4 May.