Supreme Court throws election curveball

The Supreme Court recently requested the Election Commission of India to provide a detailed breakdown of appeals before the tribunals established to handle cases of individuals wrongfully included or excluded from the West Bengal voter list after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise. The court sought information on the total number of cases pending, those decided, and the number of appeals for both inclusion and exclusion.

Petitioners challenging the SIR process informed the court that of the approximately 83,000 appeals decided by the tribunals, 75,443 had been restored to the electoral rolls. The court, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, questioned the implications of these decisions and sought clarification on the steps being taken to update the electoral rolls following the tribunals' orders.

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, representing some petitioners, expressed concern over the RTI reply provided to a Member of Parliament, describing it as "absolutely appalling." He emphasized the importance of prioritizing cases of those excluded from the voter list, as 75,443 individuals had been included due to appeals, while the remaining 31 lakh appeals were filed by the Election Commission or those challenging inclusions.

The court acknowledged the potential impact on the upcoming municipal corporation and panchayat elections and expressed willingness to provide additional tribunals to expedite the process.