The Supreme Court has questioned the West Bengal government for filing pleas that cast doubt on the judicial officers appointed to examine complaints related to the voter list revision in the state.
The matter arises from a special intensive revision of the electoral rolls in West Bengal, during which names of about 63 lakh people were removed. The Trinamool Congress-led state government, along with several residents, moved the Supreme Court challenging the exercise and related processes.
A bench led by Chief Justice Suryakant, along with Justices R. Mahadevan and Jaymalya Bagchi, said the credibility of the appointed judicial officers should not be undermined and that such petitions would not be accepted. The bench remarked that it could not tolerate attempts to question the judges tasked with the inquiry.
Citing a report submitted by the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, the Supreme Court noted that as of the evening of March 9, solutions had been provided for 10.16 lakh complaints.
The court directed that the Election Commission should not introduce any mandatory rules to speed up the process without prior approval from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. It also said the Calcutta High Court may set up a separate appellate tribunal comprising retired judges for those whose petitions are rejected by the judicial officers, and barred any Election Commission administrative official from interfering with the officers’ decisions.
