West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee welcomed the Supreme Court order to set up Appellate Tribunals to hear voters’ appeals, saying a door closed by the Election Commission has now been opened. She described the order as a new ray of hope for people whose names were deleted or kept under adjudication categories due to ‘logical discrepancy’ under the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.
“The door that was firmly shut has opened a little. This is a victory for the people of Bengal,” Banerjee said after temporarily calling off her sit-in demonstration in Kolkata.
On Tuesday, a bench of the Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices R. Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi said the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court can form a bench of former Chief Justices and High Court Judges to hear appeals, and asked the Election Commission to set up an appellate body for hearings.
The apex court said Appellate Tribunals comprising former High Court Chief Justices and Judges should be constituted to hear appeals against exclusions in the SIR process, following concerns about the absence of an independent appellate mechanism.?
“The next hearing is scheduled for March 25. If poll dates are announced by March 15 or 16, the matter will continue in court. Even if poll dates are announced, do not worry about the voter list. They have said even on the day before the election, any voter can approach them to include their name,” Mamata Banerjee added.
Earlier, lawyer and Trinamool Congress MP Kalyan Banerjee said the apex court’s order has dented the poll panel’s power.
He explained that the Supreme Court will give directions to the High Court regarding the publication of the supplementary list, which will then be communicated to the Election Commission.
“Our position was that the supplementary list should be published only when pending cases are settled. The court said this is a very important constitutional right and should be respected,” he said.
The BJP, however, said the Trinamool Congress has unnecessarily confused the people of Bengal regarding the SIR and has been pulled up in court for raising questions on the work of judicial officers.
“The people have no faith in the Trinamool. They can no longer trust its leadership, which constantly doubts the Election Commission and questions its work. They have raised questions about judicial officers in court. The state government has no shame. They are being reprimanded by the court day in and day out,” said senior BJP leader Tapas Roy.
