The SC has directed the West Bengal CEO, along with an authorised senior officer of ECI, the chief secretary, DGP, in the presence of the advocate general and additional solicitor general to hold a meeting with the chief justice on Saturday itself to work out the modalities.
The Supreme Court has said that the voters’ list, to the extent it gets completed by February 28, can be published. However, that will not be the final publication. It also stated that supplementary lists can be added.
Trinamool Congress said it is “an extraordinary step”. “In light of these serious concerns, the Hon’ble Supreme Court, in a historic verdict, directed that judicial officers appointed by the chief justice of the Calcutta High Court shall adjudicate all cases relating to claims, objections, and ‘logical discrepancies’,” AITC said in its X Handle. “This constitutes a scathing indictment of a constitutional body that has failed in the faithful discharge of its duties. It is also a powerful vindication of our principled fight to safeguard the rights of the people and uphold the integrity of the democratic process,” AITC said.
Meanwhile, BJP Bengal co-incharge Amit Malviya posted on X: “The Supreme Court has delivered a decisive blow to the Mamata Banerjee government’s attempt to compromise SIR. In a significant order, the court directed that judicial officers will now perform the role of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs), replacing those functioning under pliant District Election Officers (DEOs) who had approved cases with incomplete, illegible and in some instances, no documents at all.”
