The Supreme Court on Friday refused to entertain the objections raised by the Trinamool Congress to the Election Commission of India imparting coaching to judicial officers who’ve been deployed for claims verification within the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) course of within the State of West Bengal.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi stated that the ECI’s coaching module can’t override the Supreme Court’s orders, and that the judicial officers should be trusted.
Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal, accompanied by Sr Advs Kalyan Bandhopadhyay and Gopal Sankaranarayanan, for the petitioners, orally talked about the matter earlier than the CJI this morning. “Something strange has happened, directions/ modalities to the judicial officers have been passed by the Election Commission behind your back after the order of the court,” Sibal stated. He stated that the judicial officers have been given a coaching module by the ECI, specifying which all paperwork must be accepted.
Expressing reluctance to listen to the matter, CJI Surya Kant stated, “Now don’t doubt our judicial officers, ultimately they will decide.”
Sibal stated that as per the order, the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court has to resolve the modalities. CJI stated that modalities meant the logistical preparations. “Don’t stall the process with small excuses; we cannot hear like this. There has to be an end to this. We passed an order beyond your imagination,” CJI stated. CJI asserted that the judicial officers are conscious as to what’s to be performed.
Justice Bagchi then identified that the Supreme Court has clearly acknowledged within the order which all paperwork will be accepted, and the ECI can’t override them.
“Who else other than ECI will give the training. We have made it clear what are the documents to be looked at. Our directions are clear as daylight, they cannot be overriden,” Justice Bagchi stated.
Sibal stated that the coaching module instructs the judicial officers to to not settle for domicile certificates. “If our orders cover such a document, it will be looked into..” Justice Bagchi stated.
Sibal requested that the judicial officers be requested to resolve independently and uninfluenced by the ECI’s directions. He argued that even the declare of the Chief Secretary was rejected.
CJI replied that the judicial officers are conscious of the Supreme Court’s order and there was no must make any clarification. “Our orders are clear,” CJI stated. Justice Bagchi identified that for the SIR work, your entire judiciary has been “evacuated.”
Last week, the Court had directed the deployment of judicial officers to adjudicate the claims within the SIR course of, in view of the dispute between the State and the ECI over the appointment of State officers. Earlier this week, the Court allowed judicial officers from Jharkhand and Odisha even be deployed, since ample judges should not obtainable in West Bengal to finish the work earlier than the deadline.
