Top Court Questions Bengal Government Over Delay In Sharing Officers' Names For SIR Exercise

The Supreme Court on Monday, while issuing additional directions to streamline the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal, questioned the Mamata Banerjee government over the delay in providing a list of Group-B officers to the Election Commission (EC).

The top court also issued a show-cause notice to the Director General of West Bengal Police over allegations of inaction regarding complaints filed by the Election Commission against instances of violence and vandalism during the ongoing SIR exercise.

Supreme Court Questions Bengal Government Over Delay

During the previous hearing, when Mamata Banerjee appeared personally before the top court, she was assured that if her government provided a list of Group-B officers, the poll body would withdraw over 8,000 micro-observers currently deployed in the state.

Banerjee had argued that these micro-observers, being Central government officers, were deleting voters' names without proper authority. Today, however, the poll body informed the court that it had yet to receive the details of the 8,505 Group-B officers promised.

Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant asked why, if the court had issued the order on February 4, the state government waited until February 7 to send an email, only providing the full list of details today. The state government contended that it was waiting for a reply from the ECI to its initial mail and that the list had been ready.

When counsel for the West Bengal government insisted the list was shared, the ECI countered, stating that necessary details were missing.

"It is unfortunate that the ECI is refuting claims by the state government on face, and we would need to ask the chief secretary to file an affidavit if there is no clarity," CJI Surya Kant remarked.

Expressing displeasure at the blame game between the two sides, the court recorded in its order:

"On February 4, Mamata Banerjee appeared along with her counsels. There was an objection raised on the deployment of micro observers, and it was stated by ECI that, despite repeated requests, adequate manpower was not provided by the state government. On this, Chief Minister Banerjee made a statement that she was willing to provide state government officers who are competent enough to perform these duties. We have been shown that on Feb 7, the senior counsels of ECI were informed at 11:57 AM that the state is ready to provide 8,505 officers for the SIR exercise," the court said.

"No Impediment Will Be Tolerated"

"We will not allow any impediment in the conduct of SIR. This must be clear to all states," the bench of CJI Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice NV Anjaria observed.

The court made these observations after the ECI submitted that the state of West Bengal was not cooperating. The bench clarified that it would issue directions to ensure the smooth execution of the SIR, similar to those issued in the case of Bihar.

The Supreme Court ultimately directed the state government to ensure that all 8,505 Group-B officers report for duty to the District Collector or Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) by 5 PM tomorrow. The court further clarified that the ECI shall have the discretion to replace existing EROs/AEROs and utilise the newly provided officers, subject to their suitability.

Extending the deadline for the SIR exercise by one week, the court clarified that the responsibility of these officials shall be to assist the EROs, who remain the final decision-makers.

"Since a new set of government officials has been inducted, the process of scrutinising documents submitted by affected persons is likely to take more time, and as suggested on behalf of some of the petitioners, we direct that one week more time shall be granted beyond Feb 14 to the ERO to complete scrutiny and take a decision," the court said.

Top Court Seeks Explanation from DGP

The court directed the Director General of Police (DGP) of West Bengal to file a personal affidavit explaining what action has been taken regarding complaints of vandalism and violence.

This follows submissions by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta regarding the ECI's allegations that the SIR in Bengal was marred by "violence, intimidation, and sustained political interference." The bench reiterated that a categorical direction was issued on January 19 to the state police to ensure the maintenance of law and order.