New Delhi, Mar 10 (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday asked the West Bengal government and the Election Commission to provide all logistical support to judicial officers involved in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.
A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi said the judicial officers deployed in the SIR process have so far dealt with 10.16 lakh objections and claims from those facing deletion from the electoral rolls.
The bench asked the Election Commission to ensure that no mandatory step is introduced that could disrupt the SIR process unless approved by the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. It also said technical disruptions in the EC’s portal should be looked into to ensure that no such problems occur.
The bench said new login IDs for judicial officers should be created promptly to ensure the smooth revision of electoral rolls. It also said that decisions taken by judicial officers cannot be examined in appeals by any administrative officers of the Election Commission.
The top court said the Chief Justice of the High Court could form a bench of former chief justices and high court judges to deal with appeals. It also asked the poll panel to issue a notification for setting up an appellate body to handle appeals against the decisions of judicial officers in the SIR process.
The bench was hearing a batch of pleas related to the ongoing SIR exercise in the state.
PTI SJK MNL