Display 1.25 cr Voter Names In ‘Discrepancies’ List: SC

The apex court also ordered that those likely to be affected by the ongoing SIR in the state must be allowed to submit their documents or objections at the panchayat bhavans and block offices. A three-judge bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Dipankar Datta and Joymalya Bagchi issued the directions after noting that 1.25 crore voters in the state figure on the “logical discrepancies” list.

“Logical discrepancies” in progeny linking with the 2002 voters’ list include instances of a mismatch in the parent’s name and the age difference between a voter and their parent being less than 15 years or more than 50 years.

The top court directed that offices for submitting documents and objections be set up within the panchayat bhavans or block offices and asked the state government to provide adequate manpower to the election authorities.

It also directed that the DGP of West Bengal shall be obligated to ensure there is no law-and-order problem and that all the activities shall be completed smoothly.

The top court was hearing pleas alleging arbitrariness and procedural irregularities in the ongoing SIR exercise in West Bengal, including those related to the “logical discrepancies” category.

It noted notices have been issued that are broadly classified in three categories — mapped, unmapped and logical discrepancy. Under the “logical discrepancy” category, mismatches in father’s name or parents’ age, and a difference in the age of the grandparents, were noticed by the authorities, it added.

The top court said: “The state government shall provide adequate manpower to the State Election Commission for the deployment at the panchayat bhavans and block offices. In this regard, we direct that every district shall meticulously comply with the directions issued by the EC or the state government for the staff for smooth functioning.”

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for some petitioners, questioned the criteria for issuance of notices of hearings for “logical discrepancies”. He said that names like “Ganguly”, “Datta”, etc, can be spelt in different ways, and these spelling differences are cited as reasons for notices.

In some cases, notices are sent on the grounds that the age difference with the parents is less than 15 years, it said.

Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, for the poll panel, informed the top court that instructions have been given to the officers not to send notices citing spelling differences.

However, such cases where the age difference with the parents is 15 years or less are flagged as a “logical discrepancy”, he said.

The top court then said: “Why is it a logical discrepancy? How can a 15-year age gap between mother and son be a logical discrepancy?”

Justice Bagchi remarked: “It is not as if we don’t have child marriages in the country.”

Senior advocate Kalyan Banerjee told the court that notices have been sent even to Nobel laureate Prof. Amartya Sen and some sitting MPs. A “profiling” of voters was being done, he alleged.

Denying the allegations, Dwivedi said: “If the EC is to be distrusted, let not the EC hold the elections at all.”

In his plea, TMC leader Derek O’Brien alleged arbitrariness and procedural irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls in the state.

The application said that since the inception of the SIR process in the state, the EC has issued instructions to officers at the ground level through “informal and extra-statutory channels”, such as WhatsApp messages and oral directions conveyed in video conferences, instead of formal written instructions.

Another plea by TMC MP Dola Sen contended that the SIR orders are arbitrary, unconstitutional and will lead to invalid deletion of genuine voters.