West Bengal SIR: SC directs ECI to publish 1.25 crore names excluded due to ‘logical discrepancies’

The Supreme Court today directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to publish the names of around 1.25 crore individuals against whom the poll body had raised a “logical discrepancy” objection during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in West Bengal.

SC was hearing several petitions that levelled allegations of procedural illegalities in the poll body’s SIR in West Bengal, which resulted in exclusions from the voter roll.

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The order came after a three-judge bench led by CJI Surya Kant at the apex court observed that numerous notices have been issued by the Election Commission to about two crore individuals for verification of their documents. The Court noted that many of these individuals fall under the category of ‘logical discrepancies.’ Therefore, for the persons included in the category of logical discrepancies, SC issued the following directions to the EC:

1. The names of such persons shall be displayed at Gram Panchayat Bhavans, Block Offices, and Ward Offices.
2. Persons likely to be affected shall be allowed to submit their documents before the authorised officers.
3. Notices for submission of documents/objections shall be permitted to be submitted at the Gram Panchayat Bhavans.
4. Wherever the objection is found to be satisfactory, such persons shall be given an opportunity of hearing in accordance with the procedure already prescribed by the ECI in its Standard Operating Procedure.
5. The hearing may be conducted at the time of submission of the objection itself.

The Supreme Court also ordered the ECI to issue necessary instructions for facilitating the submission of documents by all interested individuals. It directed the state government to ensure the provision of adequate manpower to the Election Commission of India and the State Election Commission to address the objections and to adhere to the hearing process for persons who may be impacted.

According to the apex court orders, the law and order issue in the state must be taken care of by the Director General of Police, West Bengal, ensuring that the entire exercise is completed without any trouble.

Also, SC has instructed that all individuals whose names are included in the ‘logical discrepancy’ category and who have not submitted their claims should do it within ten days.