‘No impediment to SIR’: Supreme Court extends Bengal deadline by 7 days, restricts micro-observers

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N.V. Anjaria extended the deadline from February 14—the earlier date fixed for publication of the final electoral roll.

While making it clear that the SIR exercise would not be stalled, the bench said it would issue clarifications if required but would not permit any disruption to the process.

“Whatever orders or clarifications are required, we will issue them. But we will not allow any impediment in the SIR. This must be understood by all states,” CJI Kant observed.

The court directed the West Bengal government to make its officers available to assist the Election Commission of India (ECI) in SIR-related duties but curtailed the powers of micro-observers, whose deployment had drawn sharp criticism from the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC).

The bench clarified that final orders on claims and objections can be passed only by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), with micro-observers permitted merely to assist and not exercise decision-making authority.

The directions came in the backdrop of West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s in-person appearance before the bench last week, during which she accused the ECI of singling out the state through the appointment of micro-observers.

The SIR exercise is currently underway in 12 states, including poll-bound West Bengal.

The Supreme Court also asked the West Bengal Director General of Police (DGP) to file an affidavit responding to the ECI’s allegations that the state police failed to prevent violence and intimidation of officials involved in the SIR process.

Addressing law-and-order concerns earlier, the bench had directed the state to deploy adequate manpower to support the ECI and held the DGP responsible for maintaining peace during voter verification.

In previous hearings, the apex court had pulled up the ECI over the conduct of the SIR exercise and directed it to verify voters flagged under the “logical discrepancies” category in a transparent and citizen-friendly manner. The court ordered the poll body to publish the list of voters issued notices under this category.

Providing relief to affected voters, the bench ruled that submissions of documents or objections could be made through authorised agents, including Booth Level Agents (BLAs). It further directed that verification centres be set up at Panchayat Bhavans or block offices to prevent voters from travelling long distances.

The court also mandated that voters be given another opportunity for hearing if their documents were found inadequate and that duly certified receipts be issued for all submissions.