New Delhi, March 10 The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the West Bengal government and the Election Commission to provide all logistical support to judicial officers involved in the ongoing special intensive revision of electoral rolls in the state.
A three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi, said that the judicial officers, deployed in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process, have so far dealt with 10.16 lakh objections and claims of those facing deletion from the electoral rolls.
The bench asked the EC to ensure that no mandatory step is introduced which can disrupt the SIR process unless approved by the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. It also said that any technical disruptions in the EC's portal should be looked into and ensured that no such disruptions occur.
The bench said that new login IDs for judicial officers should be created promptly to ensure a smooth revision of electoral rolls. It also stated that decisions made by the judicial officers cannot be examined in appeals by any administrative officers of the Election Commission.
The top court bench said that the Chief Justice of the High Court can form a bench of former CJs and HC judges to deal with appeals and asked the poll panel to issue a notification for setting up an appellate body to deal with the appeals against the judicial officers' decisions in the SIR process.
The bench was hearing a batch of pleas related to the ongoing SIR exercise in the state.