West Bengal SIR |'If Winning Margin Is 2 % & 15% Couldn't Vote?' : Justice Bagchi Raises Concerns, Says ECI Deviated From Bihar Stance

Justice Joymalya Bagchi of the Supreme Court on Monday raised certain concerns about the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in the State of West Bengal, emphasising the need to have a "robust appellate mechanism" to consider the appeals filed by persons who were deleted from the electoral rolls.Justice Bagchi noted that when it came to West Bengal, the Election Commission of India deviated from the process in other states and introduced a new category of 'Logical Discrepancy'. Justice Bagchi also stated that the ECI deviated from the stand taken in the Bihar SIR matter that persons who were mapped in the 2002 electoral roll need not upload documents.Justice Bagchi stated that judicial officers, who are performing SIR adjudication, cannot be expected to work with 100% accuracy amidst the high-pressure situation. When a person is dealing with over 1000 documents a day against a tight deadline, even an accuracy of 70 % would be deemed 'excellent', Justice Bagchi said. Hence, there was a need for a robust appellate mechanism, he stated.Justice Bagchi also observed that if the winning margin is less than the percentage of exclusion, it may be a matter of concern."Unfair denial of participation as a candidate is a ground to cancel an election. But right to vote will per se, until and unless, it's an enormous number of electors, S.100 of the RP Act does not fall as one of the grounds for cancelling an election. If 10% of electorate does not vote and the winning margin is more than 10%...what will happen? Suppose margin is 2% and 15% of electorate who are mapped could not vote, then maybe, we are not expressing any opinion, but we would definitely have to apply our minds. Please keep this in mind that the concern of a vigilant voter whose name correctly or incorrectly is not in the list is not in our minds," Justice Bagchi told the Election Commission.The bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing a writ petition filed by petitioners, whose appeals against their exclusions from the voter roll are pending before the Appellate Tribunals. The petitioners sought that the date of freezing of electoral rolls be extended, so that they can vote in the impending assembly elections, in the event their appeals are allowed. The electoral rolls are frozen as on April 9. The petitioners underscored that they were mapped in the 2002 roll and possessed Aadhaar cards and Passports.At the outset, CJI Surya Kant expressed reluctance to interfere, saying that the Tribunal should decide. The petitioner's counsel, Senior Advocate Rauf Rahim, submitted that the ECI was not cooperating with the Appellate Tribunal by producing the materials.Justice Bagchi then observed that the ECI had deviated from its stand in the Bihar SIR that voters mapped in the 2002 roll need not produce documents. "If you see the original SIR notice, it talks of the benchmark as the 2002 electoral roll. So the SIR does not touch a person who is in the 2002 roll. The 2002 roll is not touched. What is touched who are relating themselves to the 2002 roll. 2002 roll was the benchmark, why because the last intensive revisions was then....When the Bihar SIR was argued, and we understand your SIR (in Bengal) is a facsimile of the Bihar, the submissions from ECI was unequivocal that the person in the 2002 electoral roll does not need give any document. Senior Advocate Dama Seshadri Naidu, for the ECI, submitted that such persons need not upload any documents, except showing that they are the same person mapped in the 2002 roll. Naidu said that a person just needs to affirm that they are the same person mapped in 2002. "If that is so, please see your written submissions in the Bihar case. It is very clear. It is not that the entire electorate has to upload the documents. You are deviating from your original argument," Justice Bagchi said.The CJI then intervened to say that, as per the ECI, if the person mapped in 2002 is XYZ, and the person is currently saying the name as XYL, then they need to show proof that they are the same person. Naidu agreed, "Exactly, had they faithfully filled their forms, that they are the same person, automatically they will be allowed."When Naidu said that the rejection rate after the SIR adjudication was 47%, Justice Bagchi replied, "It's not end justifying means but means justifying the end."He added that it must not be a blame game between the State and the ECI but must be about the "voter being sandwiched between two Constitutional authorities.""We employed judicial officers where there was trust deficit. The volume at which they have to do, there is a chance of error. If you go through 1000 documents a day, if the accuracy is 70 percent then the activity should be rated as excellent. There will always be a margin of error. We need to have a robust appellate mechanism and a continuing right," Justice Bagchi said."Right to vote in a country you were born is not only...

West Bengal SIR |'If Winning Margin Is 2 % & 15% Couldn't Vote?' : Justice Bagchi Raises Concerns, Says ECI Deviated From Bihar Stance

Debby Jain

"Right to vote in a country you were born is not only constitutional but sentimental," Justice Bagchi said.

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