Judicial officers aware of responsibilities, will act as per court mandate: SC on TMC plea

Kolkata: The Supreme Court of India on Friday refused to entertain a fresh objection by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) over the Election Commission’s decision to train judicial officers engaged in verifying claims during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said the training material circulated by the Election Commission of India could not supersede judicial directions already issued by the court. The judges emphasised that the officers, drawn from the judiciary, were well aware of their responsibilities and would act in accordance with the court’s mandate. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing with senior advocates Kalyan Bandhopadhyay and Gopal Sankaranarayanan, mentioned the matter before the CJI, alleging that the Commission had framed modalities for scrutiny without the court’s knowledge. He submitted that the training module outlined which documents were to be accepted and argued that such instructions ought to have been settled by the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. The Bench was not persuaded. The CJI remarked that “modalities” referred to logistical aspects and cautioned against delaying the revision process on what he termed minor grounds. Stressing that the court’s earlier order was comprehensive, he said there was no reason to suspect the independence of judicial officers. Justice Bagchi observed that the Supreme Court had clearly specified the nature of documents that could be examined and reiterated that those directions would prevail. Responding to Sibal’s claim that domicile certificates were being excluded under the training module, the Bench said any document falling within the court’s order would necessarily be considered. Earlier, the court had directed that judicial officers be deployed for SIR adjudication amid a dispute between the State government and the Commission. It subsequently permitted officers from Jharkhand and Odisha to assist, citing an insufficient number of judges in West Bengal to complete the exercise within the prescribed timeline.