SC declines pleas by Bengal election staff, directs them to tribunal

The Supreme Court of India on Friday refused to entertain petitions filed by several individuals from West Bengal challenging the deletion of their names from the electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision exercise.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi directed the petitioners to approach the designated appellate tribunals set up to examine such grievances.

The pleas included petitions by more than 70 individuals, among them 65 people who claimed they were assigned election duty but had their names removed from the voter list. Their counsel argued that the deletions were arbitrary, particularly as the petitioners’ Electors Photo Identity Card (EPIC) numbers were cited in official duty orders but were later struck off the rolls.

It was also contended that no show-cause notices had been issued prior to the removal of their names and that their appeals against the deletions were already pending before the tribunals.

The court, however, maintained that the appropriate forum for such disputes was the appellate mechanism. “You have to raise these arguments before the tribunal,” the bench observed, adding that the tribunals would pass suitable orders in due course.

The petitioners had sought interim relief allowing them to vote in the ongoing West Bengal Assembly elections while their appeals remained undecided. The court declined this request.

In an earlier order dated 13 April, the apex court had clarified that individuals whose appeals against deletion are still pending would not be entitled to vote. It had, however, directed the Election Commission of India to issue supplementary electoral rolls in cases where appellate tribunals had already allowed such appeals within specified deadlines.

To address the large number of disputes arising from the revision of electoral rolls, the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court has constituted 19 tribunals, led by former high court chief justices and judges.

The first phase of polling in West Bengal was held on 23 April, with the remaining seats set to vote on 29 April. Results are scheduled to be declared on 4 May.

With PTI inputs