Nandigram, Rejinagar bypolls: SC declines to advance West Bengal SIR hearing, says these are only byelections

Parmod Kumar

New Delhi, Sep 28 (UNI) The Supreme Court on Monday declined a plea to advance the hearing of a matter concerning appeals pending before 19 appellate tribunals over the inclusion and exclusion of voters from West Bengal's electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR), in view of the Nandigram and Rejinagar Assembly by-elections scheduled for October 6.

Seeking an urgent hearing, counsel told a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana that the matter, earlier listed for September 29, was now shown as tentatively listed for October 5. Declining the request for an early hearing, CJI Kant said, "These are only by-elections. That is all." The counsel seeking an urgent hearing pointed out that more than 18,000 appeals remained pending and that the affected voters, who had already missed the Assembly elections, were faced with the prospect of being unable to vote for a second time. The court said the matter would be listed on October 5.

At the previous hearing on August 25, the Supreme Court had directed the Election Commission of India to furnish detailed data on appeals arising from the West Bengal SIR, including their pendency, disposal, and consequential updating of the electoral rolls. The bench had also stressed that the entire appellate process should be completed well before the 2029 Lok Sabha elections.

The court had sought a break-up of appeals pending before the 19 appellate tribunals and those already disposed of, along with the nature of relief sought. It had also asked the ECI to separately identify appeals filed by voters challenging the deletion of their names and those seeking exclusion of persons already included in the rolls, besides furnishing details of appeals allowed and the consequential updating of electoral rolls. The bench had further sought details of steps proposed by the ECI to streamline and expedite the disposal of pending appeals.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, during the August 25 hearing, had submitted that of about 38 lakh appeals, around seven lakh were filed by individuals whose names had been removed, while the remaining 31 lakh were by the ECI or persons objecting to the inclusion of voters. Referring to the Nandigram and Rejinagar by-elections, senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee had also flagged the possibility of affected voters losing their opportunity to vote if their appeals were not decided and the rolls updated in time.

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