The supreme court on Tuesday showed concern over the BLOs and other officials associated with SIR 2.0 being threatened in West Bengal and other states. The apex court further asked the Election Commission to pay heed to the situation, or “it will cause anarchy.”
A bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Joymalay Bagchi also expressed concerns over the alleged lack of cooperation by the state government in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and said, “What we want to ensure is that the SIR is done on the ground without any glitches.”
“This is not desk work. They go to each house and verify, then the enumeration is submitted to him, and then he uploads it. He goes from house to house and then uploads it. This is the pressure they are under, which is strain and stress,” Justice Bagchi said.
“Bring to our notice instances of lack of cooperation and hindrances to the work of BLOs, and we will pass appropriate orders,” the bench told senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, representing the Election Commission (EC).
The state governments are supposed to cooperate with us and give us protection. If the state government refuses to do so, then we have no option other than taking the local police under deputation. If the situation still does not improve, then we will have to call central forces,” Dwivedi said.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) told the court that it has full constitutional authority to act against any threats or intimidation directed at Booth Level Officers and officials engaged in the revision exercise.
“If the situation worsens, we will have no option but to place the police under deputation,” the ECI told the bench.
“Deal with the situation, or it will cause anarchy,” CJI Kant told Dwivedi.
Furthermore, the bench said that the responsibility to ensure swift conduct of SIR lies together with the state government and the Commission. It urged that the face panel be placed on record.
The bench reiterated that the responsibility to ensure smooth conduct of SIR lies jointly with state governments and the Commission. The bench also directed the poll panel to place on record to be pointed to specific instances of non-cooperation and obstruction by state authorities, assuring the Court that appropriate directions would be issued.
