The Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a plea filed by voters whose names have been deleted from the electoral rolls after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal, ahead of the Assembly elections on April 23 and 29.
Directing the aggrieved parties to approach the established appellate tribunals, a two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi termed the petition "premature."
"Since the petitioners (Quaraisha Yeasmin and others) have already approached the appellate tribunals in our considered view, the apprehensions expressed in the petition are premature. If the plea is allowed, then necessary consequences will follow," the bench said in its order, adding that it has not expressed any views on the merits of the plea.
Nearly 90 lakh voters were deleted from the electoral rolls of West Bengal after the controversial SIR process, with nearly 34 lakh appeals currently pending before the tribunals.
The Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court has set up as many as 19 tribunals headed by former HC chief justices and judges to decide on the appeals.
The plea, filed by 13 voters whose names were deleted from the electoral rolls, alleged that the Election Commission was summarily deleting names without following due process, and that appeals against these deletions were not being heard in a timely manner.
Senior advocate D S Naidu, appearing for the poll panel, informed the court that there are 30 to 34 lakh appeals currently pending before the tribunals.
"Every tribunal now has over one lakh appeals to handle," the bench said.
The petitioners' counsel argued that the EC had failed to place necessary orders before the relevant judicial authorities and that the "freezing date" for the electoral rolls should be extended.
"If I am not allowed to argue, then what is the use? Will these appeals be decided within a timeframe or just kept extending?" the counsel asked.
Justice Bagchi, during the hearing, referred to the sanctity of the electoral process and said the right to vote is not merely a constitutional formality but a "sentimental" pillar of democracy.
"The right to vote in a country you were born in is not just constitutional, but sentimental. It is about being part of a democracy and helping elect a government," he said.
He, however, said that the tribunals, manned by former judges, cannot be overburdened by fixing the timelines for adjudications.
"It is not the end justifying the means, but the means justifying the end," Justice Bagchi said.
"We need to protect due process rights. The voter should not be sandwiched between two constitutional authorities," he said, adding that it would not interdict the election process at this stage.
Justice Bagchi noted that the Calcutta High Court Chief Justice had already formulated the manner and mode for appeals, which began on Monday.
"Unless and until an enormous number of voters are excluded or it materially affects the election... the election cannot be cancelled," the bench said, adding that judicial intervention is intended to "promote elections, not interdict them."
The CJI emphasised that the petitioners must exhaust their remedies before the appellate tribunals.
Assembly elections in West Bengal will be held in two phases on April 23 and 29, and votes will be counted on May 4.
