SIR in West Bengal: SC notice to ECI on Trinamool MPs' plea

Supreme Court on Monday issued notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on applications filed by Trinamool Congress MPs, challenging the procedural actions taken in the special intensive revision process of electoral rolls in the state.

A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi heard the applications filed by MPs Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen.

Representing Brien, senior advocate Kapil Sibal argued that instructions relating to SIR are being issued through social communication platforms like WhatsApp, making BLOs act without any formally issued orders. The application sought a direction to the poll panel to "forthwith stop issuing instructions for compliance by BLOs (booth level officers) and other officers in the SIR exercise through WhatsApp or other such informal channels" and urged the court to "declare all such instructions issued so far as illegal". It said such casual communication channels for such a critical exercise have been unheard of in the country since independence and this will, in fact, have the effect of "absolving decision-makers of accountability".


Sibal also contended that ECI has introduced a 'logical discrepancy' category of voters, who may be issued notice for a quasi-judicial hearing on their eligibility over errors or anomalies in the voter details. The senior advocate added that very "weird procedures" are being followed in West Bengal.

"ECI, as a constitutional authority, cannot abdicate its obligation to issue written instructions governing a process that directly impacts the fundamental democratic rights of citizens," the application said. It said the final roll is due to be published on February 14, even though the entire document verification phase has been "thrown into disarray because of ECI's procedural nightmare". "The right to be included in the electoral roll is a statutory right with constitutional protection, and the process governing it must meet standards of fairness, reasonableness and due process," the application said.

The counsel for the poll body sought two weeks to file its counter. Considering the same, the bench granted ECI a week. The matter will be taken up for hearing next week.