MBBS Student Denied Passport Over Mother's Name Deletion From Voter List: Calcutta High Court Directs SIR Tribunal To Decide In 2 Weeks

The Calcutta High Court has directed the concerned SIR Appellate Tribunal to decide within two weeks an appeal challenging the deletion of the petitioner's mother's name from the electoral roll, after the issue allegedly came in the way of the petitioner's passport application.

The petitioner, who has secured admission to an MBBS course at a medical college in Bangladesh, approached the High Court in connection with the difficulty he was facing in obtaining a passport.

The grievance stemmed from the deletion of his mother's name from the electoral roll during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The petitioner contended that the deletion had created difficulties in establishing the requisite documents for obtaining his passport.

Justice Krishna Rao was informed that the petitioner's challenge to the deletion of his mother's name was already pending before the SIR Appellate Tribunal.

Considering the urgency arising from the petitioner's admission to a medical college in Bangladesh, the High Court directed the Tribunal to take up and dispose of the pending appeal within two weeks.

The High Court did not adjudicate the merits of the dispute concerning the deletion of the mother's name, but directed the statutory appellate forum to decide the pending appeal within the stipulated period.