Kolkata, Sept. 30 -- Chief Minister Suvendu Adhikari's recent remarks linking deletion of names from electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) with denial of welfare benefits have raised legal questions, coming against observations by the Supreme Court and Calcutta

High Court.

In a recent address to the media, Adhikari was purportedly heard saying that, as with the old-age pension scheme, there were "false beneficiaries" under Ujjwala 1 and 2 and that digital verification was being carried out. He said those he described as "infiltrators", whose names had been dropped from the SIR rolls, were "not Indians" and would not get rations or old-age pensions.

He also said the Centre would be informed. The remarks have since been circulated on social media. The statement assumes significance as the Supreme Court has indicated that deletion from the electoral roll does not, by itself, extinguish entitlement to welfare benefits.

In July, a three-judge Bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, observed that a person excluded from the electoral roll could still be entitled to welfare benefits, including subsidised food, if otherwise eligible.

The Calcutta High Court had raised a similar question in August while granting interim protection to Cooch Behar resident Umme Salma. Justice Hiranmay Bhattacharyya questioned whether deletion from the electoral roll could justify denial of PDS benefits while her application for restoration of her voter status remained pending.

The state has said her RKSY-I card remained active and assured that ration supplies would not be stopped.

Several cases alleging exclusion from welfare schemes following SIR-related deletion are now before the courts. Recently, the Left women's wing AIDWA staged an agitation at Esplanade over alleged exclusion of women from welfare schemes following deletion of their names from the electoral rolls.

The legal issue is whether SIR status can, by itself, determine welfare eligibility. Electoral-roll status and entitlement under individual welfare schemes arise under different legal frameworks, putting Adhikari's remarks under further legal scrutiny.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.