EC forms 19 appeals tribunals to hear SIR cases

New Delhi: election committeeact in the following direction Supreme Court On the recommendation of the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, 19 appellate tribunals were set up on Friday to hear appeals against orders passed by designated judicial officers in Bengal regarding the inclusion or exclusion of potential voters from the state’s electoral roll.The EC, in a notification issued on Friday, said the appellant can appeal against the order passed by the designated judicial officer after the release of the supplementary electoral roll after the judicial officer adjudicated the “suspicious” cases under SIR.These tribunals, which will hear appeals on a district or group of districts basis, will be headed by former judges, including former HC chief justice TS Sivagnanam, who will preside over the appellate tribunals for 24 North Parganas (parliamentary constituencies) and Kolkata districts.The tribunals are likely to start functioning on Monday until all appeals are processed. Given that the electoral roll is frozen on the last day of nominations, the supplementary list should be published no later than one day before the poll notification is issued to give the court a week to hear the appeal.If the appeal is decided on the last day for nominations (April 6 for the first phase and April 9 for the second phase), those approved by the court for inclusion on the rolls will be able to vote in the upcoming elections.For those who fail the court test or have their appeals not heard by the deadline, the impact goes beyond being unable to vote. If a court rules that they are ineligible for inclusion on the roster (mainly because they are non-citizens), they will have to be confined in a detention center and deported to their country of origin.Sources at the committee said a tribunal needs to be set up before the supplementary list is published so that it is clear how and where those included or excluded from the supplementary list can appeal. According to the EC notification, the appeal can be filed online through the ECINet platform or in person at the office of the concerned DM District Magistrate, SDM or SDO.While one court each has been set up for Purba Medinipur, Coochbehar, Purba Bardhaman, Nadia, Howrah, Dakshin Dinajpur, 24 Parganas South, Hooghly, Paschim Bardhaman, Uttar Dinajpur, Birbhum and Malda districts; four courts will hear appeals from two districts; the combination is 24 Parganas (AC Wise) and Kolkata; Darjeeling, Kalimpong, Jalpaiguri and Alipurduar; Paschim Medinipur and Jhargram; and Purulia and Bankura.