SC deploys judicial officers in Bengal for SIR hearings | India News
New Delhi: In an unprecedented decision Supreme Court West Bengal on Friday used its “extraordinary power” to decide on claims for inclusion in the electoral roll and speed up the completion of a special intensive revision of the electoral roll. The court stressed that CM Mamata Banerjee should be aware of the consequences if the review exercise is not completed. The court explained that the unprecedented judicial intervention under Article 142 of the Constitution was necessitated by the “extraordinary situation” in Bengal arising out of lack of trust and non-cooperation between the EC and the Government of Bengal. A bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justices Jayamalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, despite objections from the TMC-led government, allowed the Election Commission (EC) to release the revised voter list – 95% of the total list – on February 28, the deadline for publication of the final voter list, while demands are still pending. The bench also disagreed with the state government’s contention that the Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and not the judicial officers should take the final decision in deciding the claim for inclusion in the electoral roll.TMC: SC orders no-confidence vote against EC on SIRThe Trinamool Congress on Friday described the Supreme Court’s order to replace judicial officers over EC-appointed officials to hear cases of logical mismatch of SIRs as a “vote of no confidence against the EC”. In a post on X, the party said: “This constitutes a scathing indictment of a constitutional body that has faithfully failed to discharge its duties. It is also a strong testament to our principled fight to protect people’s rights and uphold the integrity of the democratic process.” TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said: “Even the top court of the country is convinced that the election body is neither impartial nor competent by gathering people with unreasonable hearing notices.”
