SC deploys judicial officers in Bangladesh for SIR hearing India News

New Delhi: In an unprecedented decision, Supreme Court on Friday used its “extraordinary powers” to deploy judicial officers in West Bengal to decide on requests for inclusion in the electoral rolls and speed up the completion of a special intensive revision of the electoral rolls. The court stressed that CM Mamata Banerjee should be aware of the consequences if the revision work is not completed. The court explained that “extraordinary circumstances” arose in Bangladesh due to a lack of trust and non-cooperation between the EC and the government of Bangladesh, which necessitated unprecedented judicial intervention under Article 142 of the Constitution. Despite objections from the TMC-led government, a bench of Justices CJI Surya Kant, Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi also allowed the Election Commission (EC) to publish the revised electoral roll (95 per cent of the total list) on February 28, the deadline for publication of the final electoral list, while the remaining inclusion requirements are still being decided. The judge also disagreed with the state government’s argument that the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) and not the judicial officer should have the final say in deciding whether to be included in the electoral roll.TMC: SC orders SIR to hold vote of no confidence in ECThe Trinamool Congress on Friday described the Supreme Court order to hear SIR cases on logical discrepancies by replacing judicial officers instead of those appointed by the EC as a “vote of no confidence in the EC”. The party said in X’s post: “This is a serious indictment of a constitutional institution that has failed to faithfully perform its duties. It is also a powerful testament to our principled fight to defend people’s rights and preserve the integrity of the democratic process.” “Even the country’s Supreme Court seems to believe that the poll body is not neutral and incompetent after issuing unreasonable notices for hearings to people,” TMC spokesperson Kunal Ghosh said.