Bengal SIR: Former Calcutta HC judge Sahidullah Munshi marked ‘not found’ in electoral roll
Retired judge questions lack of clarity and due process after EC flags his name as “not found” while family remains “under adjudication” following SIR exercise.
Former Calcutta High Court Justice Sahidullah Munshi has been marked as “not found”, and his wife and son have been categorised as “under adjudication” in the supplementary list published by the Election Commission (EC) following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise in West Bengal, despite submitting documents twice and undergoing verification.
According to a report in the Bar and Bench, the names of Justice (retd) Munshi and his family members also did not feature in the first draft of the electoral rolls.
“What happened with me was after the first SIR notification was out, we submitted all our documents. Me, my wife and my elder son and my son, we submitted our documents to the Booth Level Officer. Our name did not come in the draft SIR. So automatically, you know, we were worried. But then we were told that we can move for verification etc.” Munshi told Bar & Bench.
Verification process and outcome
Elaborating further, the former judge said that he was then asked to visit the EC’s office in Entally, Kolkata, where he underwent a fresh verification process conducted by the EC officials, following which they told him and his family members that hopefully the issue would be resolved.
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“We were called at the Entally office where the Election Commission officials conducted an exercise of verification of documents in which I again gave all my documents and we were told that hopefully it will be cleared now,” said Justice (retd) Munshi.
But when the supplementary list came out, his name was marked differently from that of his family members.
“What happened in the supplementary list was automatically the names did not figure and my wife and my son was marked as under adjudication, whereas my name is shown in the supplementary list as not found,” added the former judge.
Claims lack of clarity
He also said that no reasons were given for the deletion of his name, adding that he was not sure on what ground he would appeal to the appellate tribunal.
Justice (retd) Munshi said that no receipts were given to him for the documents he submitted. “Documents that I have submitted, no receipts were given to me as to what sort of documents were given. So even if they want to decline later that the documents were improper, I do not really know because no receipt was given to me,” he added.
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Questioning the appellate mechanism, the former judge said “Apart from the natural justice violation ground, there are no other grounds on which I can move the appellate tribunal and if the appellate tribunal does not find it fit, then I have to move the High Court under Article 226.”
He also drew attention to what he described as inconsistencies in the outcome, pointing out that while his own name has been marked “not found”, his wife and son continue to be shown as “under adjudication” despite all documents being submitted together.
SIR exercise and legal scrutiny
The Special Intensive Revision exercise undertaken by the Election Commission in West Bengal involves a fresh verification of electoral rolls, including enumeration, publication of draft rolls and a subsequent claims and objections process.
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The exercise has also come under the scanner of the Supreme Court, which has directed that adequate opportunity be provided for verification and filing of objections.
At present, the process is being carried out by judicial officers drawn from three States. This follows an order passed by the Supreme Court on February 20, where the Court took note of the lack of cooperation between the State government and the EC and directed such an arrangement.