EC, SC and a long shadow in West Bengal

📌 Summary:

• Context: West Bengal Phase 2 polling concluded; spotlight shifts to results (May 4) but a "shadow of voter disenfranchisement" hangs over the process

• Core argument: The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal has been opaque, tortuous, and effectively disenfranchised voters — raising serious questions about EC and Supreme Court

• Scale of deletions: 89 lakh names deleted from rolls; 58 lakh in first round; 60 lakh placed "under adjudication"; 5 lakh more deleted mid-process; of "under adjudication" 27 lakh deleted — highest proportionally in Muslim-dominated constituencies

• Appellate mechanism: 34 lakh applied to 19 SC-constituted appellate tribunals; tribunals set up late, given no deadline; restored only 139 names before Round 1, 1,468 before Round 2 — far too few

• Comparison with Bihar SIR: SC had intervened earlier (accepting Aadhaar, requiring reasons for deletions); WB SIR added more burdensome layers (8,000 micro-observers) without learning from Bihar

• SC critique: Gave EC benefit of doubt, contributed to delays, made "platitudinous" remarks about sanctity of vote

• Conclusion: EC (as neutral umpire) and SC (as custodian of rights) have failed to address voters' anxieties about disenfranchisement

📌 UPSC Relevance:

• GS2: Election Commission's role, right to vote, judicial oversight of elections, SIR process

📌 Prelims Facts:

• SIR: Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls conducted by Election Commission

• RPA 1950: governs electoral rolls; ERO (Electoral Registration Officer) responsible for rolls

• Appellate tribunals under Article 329: disputes about elections cannot be challenged except by election petition