The Supreme Court has verbally directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to resolve the issue of voters under consideration in West Bengal’s SIR process before April 6. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi stated that in constituencies where voting has already taken place, efforts must be made to complete the adjudication process there first.

 

The Election Commission informed the Supreme Court yesterday that it will now attempt to publish daily lists of adjudications completed each day. For this purpose, the Commission will approach the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.

 

The apex court also instructed that the names of candidates from various political parties be adjudicated first.

 

On behalf of the state, lawyer Shyam Dewan informed the court that it is still unclear how many names were excluded from the list published on Monday. He emphasised the need to expedite the functioning of the Appellate Tribunal so that the process can be completed by April 16. Justice Joymalya Bagchi remarked that the names of candidates from recognised political parties must be adjudicated first. The next hearing of the case is scheduled for April 1.