‘At This Speed, the Next Election Will Arrive’: Supreme Court’s Stern Remark in Bengal SIR Case
SC Seeks Data from Election Commission on Disposal of Appeals Against Voter-List Deletions; Next Hearing on August 25
The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought detailed information from the Election Commission of India (ECI) on the number of appeals disposed of by tribunals in West Bengal following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
A bench headed by Justice Suryakant issued notice to the ECI on a petition filed by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who has sought the setting up of SIR tribunals in every block of West Bengal and the speedy disposal of appeals filed by voters whose names were removed from the electoral rolls.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court expressed concern over the pace at which the appeals were being handled. The court remarked that “at this speed, the next election will arrive”, highlighting the need for faster disposal of the cases.
Justice Bagchi observed that merely filing appeals was not sufficient and that the number of cases actually disposed of by the tribunals was equally important.
The court directed the Election Commission to provide data on the appeals received and the number of cases that have been disposed of so far. It also indicated that if the functioning of the tribunals was found to be inadequate, appropriate changes could be considered.
The court noted that considerable time had already passed since the SIR exercise and said it was important to assess the progress made by the appellate tribunals.
Counsel appearing for the West Bengal government told the court that complete data regarding the disposal of SIR-related appeals would be presented before it.
The Supreme Court has scheduled the next hearing in the matter for August 25, when the latest figures and details of the tribunal proceedings are expected to be placed before the court.
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