Kolkata, April 20 -- The Supreme Court of India on Monday declined to entertain an oral submission alleging irregularities in the addition of nearly seven lakh voters to West Bengal's electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
The issue was mentioned before a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi by senior advocate Menaka Guruswamy, who represents petitioners already challenging the SIR exercise. Referring to media reports, Guruswamy argued that the Election Commission of India had permitted fresh inclusions through Form 6 despite the court's April 13 directions. According to her, the earlier order allowed additions only in cases where appeals against voter exclusions were accepted by appellate tribunals. She contended that permitting new registrations beyond the stipulated cut-off date could potentially affect the integrity of the ongoing electoral process.
Guruswamy further submitted that observations made during earlier hearings suggested that voters added after the qualifying date might not be entitled to vote in the present election.
She warned that bulk additions through Form 6 could have a disproportionate electoral impact. The bench, however, made it clear that it would not act on oral submissions based on media reports. The Chief Justice stated that the court could only examine the issue if a formal petition challenging a specific action or order was filed.
With the final electoral rolls yet to be published, the court declined to intervene at this stage, leaving the petitioners to seek appropriate legal remedies through a properly instituted plea.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.