Kolkata, July 8 -- The Calcutta High Court's Jalpaiguri Circuit Bench on Wednesday directed the Appellate Tribunal constituted under the SIR process to expedite the hearing of an appeal filed by a voter from Cooch Behar whose passport application has been stalled following deletion of his name from the electoral roll.
Hearing the matter, Justice Kausik Chanda observed that a passport cannot be issued unless the applicant is recognised as a citizen of India and said the pending appeal before the SIR Appellate Tribunal would have to be decided first.
The petitioner, a resident of Tufanganj in Cooch Behar district, approached the High Court after his Tatkal passport application was kept on hold during police verification because his Electoral Photo Identity Card (EPIC) had become invalid following deletion under the SIR exercise. While his father's name had appeared in the electoral rolls since 2002, and other family members continue to remain on the rolls, his appeal against the deletion is yet to be taken up. Expressing concern over the pace of disposal, Justice Chanda remarked that, at the present rate, it could take nearly 21 years for all pending appeals before the tribunal to be decided.
Counsel for the petitioner argued that electoral identity cards are neither mandatory documents under the passport law nor proof of citizenship.
It was also submitted that the Supreme Court of India has held that deletion of a name during the SIR process does not amount to a declaration that a person is not an Indian citizen.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.