The Calcutta High Court has raised serious concerns over the accessibility of appellate tribunals set up to hear grievances related to the deletion of names from the electoral roll in West Bengal. The tribunal is located in Joka, on the outskirts of Kolkata, and the court questioned whether people from remote districts can be expected to travel there for hearings.
High Court Questions Accessibility
Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul) remarked, "How will someone from a remote area appear before a tribunal which is in Joka?" She emphasized that it is a constitutional right of every person to have their name on the voter list, and therefore, the problem needs to be resolved promptly. The vacation bench suggested that the Centre seek the Supreme Court's nod for setting up Special Intensive Revision (SIR) tribunals in every district of West Bengal.
Background of the Tribunals
Nineteen tribunals, composed of former high court chief justices and judges, were constituted on March 20 following Supreme Court directions to establish an appellate mechanism for grievances arising out of the electoral roll revision process. However, all these tribunals have been set up in Joka, creating a logistical challenge for appellants from distant districts.
The vacation bench asked the central government lawyers present in the court to seek the Supreme Court's direction and permission for setting up SIR tribunals in every district of Bengal. The top court had ordered the formation of appellate tribunals to hear appeals against exclusions from the voter list.
Massive Number of Deletions
Nearly 91 lakh names have been removed from Bengal's voter list as part of the SIR of the electoral roll conducted by the Election Commission. The state had an electorate of 7.6 crore before the revision process commenced. This has led to a flood of petitions before the Calcutta High Court seeking expedited hearings.
Even on Friday, there were at least three SIR matters before Justice Shampa Dutt (Paul) where petitioners wanted just a one-line order directing the appellate tribunal to hear their cases expeditiously. These are people who could not make it to the final roll this year and have already appealed against the deletion. They have an appeal number but do not know the status of their cases.
Court's Urgent Appeal
During the hearing of one such case, Justice Dutt (Paul) told the additional advocate general Rajdeep Mazumder, "Every day there are four to five cases on SIR, what are you doing? Please put up a DM (district management) cell ... Just imagine a man going to Joka from district. Online, also, it has not been taken up. Please take it up on an urgent basis."
Justice Dutt (Paul) also urged the state government to draw the attention of the Supreme Court to the snail pace of appeal clearance and the increasing number of petitions before Calcutta High Court benches seeking directions upon the bench for urgent hearing.
