‘Let judicial officers work’: SC rejects Bengal Govt’s objection to ECI training module

The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain West Bengal government’s objection to a training module issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI) for judicial officers overseeing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. Chief Justice of India Surya Kant said there was no reason to doubt the independence of judicial officers and urged that the process should not be stalled.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the state, argued that the ECI had issued directions and a training module specifying what documents should or should not be accepted, despite the Court earlier stating that modalities would be decided by the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court and a designated committee. He contended that judicial officers should not take instructions that run contrary to the Court’s orders.

The Bench, also comprising Justice Joymalya Bagchi, observed that its orders were “clear as daylight” and that any ECI instruction could not override them. The Court said it trusted judicial officers to act independently and would not entertain objections raised in such a manner. “Please do not make small excuses to stall the process. This has to end. Let judicial officers work. They will work independently,” the CJI remarked.

Sibal further alleged that certain identity proofs, including domicile certificates issued by Sub-Divisional Officers, were not being accepted despite earlier court directions. The Bench responded that if such deviations were found to be contrary to its orders or official notifications, the matter would be examined appropriately.

The Court also noted that it had already taken extraordinary steps by deploying serving and former district judges, along with civil judges and requisitioned officers from neighbouring states, to assist in handling lakhs of claims and objections during the SIR exercise. Declining to issue fresh directives, the Bench directed that supplementary electoral lists be uploaded as and when updated, reiterating that neither the ECI nor the state government could go beyond the Court’s orders.