The Supreme Court has fixed the date for hearing on the Special Intensive Review (SIR) petition filed by various political parties. This includes political parties from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. The Supreme Court on Monday agreed to hear a plea by actor-turned-politician Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) challenging special intensive revision in Tamil Nadu. The matter will be heard on December 4 along with other pending petitions related to Tamil Nadu.
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What is said in the petition?
Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for TVK, told the court that there is immense pressure on Anganwadi workers and school teachers to work as Booth Level Officers (BLOs). They are being forced to fulfill the set targets. If they are not able to meet the target then notices are sent to them under Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act. Under this section, there is a punishment of up to three months and the risk of losing the job. He also said that due to such pressure, claims of suicide of 21 BLOs have come to light. He also informed the court that the Election Commission has extended the date for submission of SIR form from December 4 to December 11.
Cases related to other states are also in the court
The Supreme Court is hearing SIR disputes related to different states on different dates. In this, Kerala’s petition will be heard on December 2, Tamil Nadu’s petition on December 4, and West Bengal’s petition on December 9. On Tuesday, the court will hear CPI’s petition against SIR in Kerala. The Kerala government has also sought deferment of the SIR due to local body elections.
Refugee case related to CAA also in court
The Supreme Court has also sent a notice to the Election Commission on the petition filed by Hindu, Buddhist, Christian and Jain refugees from Bangladesh in Bengal. Senior advocate Karuna Nandi, appearing for petitioner NGO ‘Atmadeep’, said, these refugees had come to India before 2014 to escape religious persecution. But citizenship applications under CAA have not yet been processed. Therefore, they should be temporarily included in the voter list during SIR. The Supreme Court said that the issue of citizenship will not be looked at collectively, but on a case-by-case basis and a detailed hearing of the case will be held on December 9.
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EC has the right to amend the election list – Supreme Court
Earlier, on November 26, the apex court had said that the argument that SIR had never been conducted before could not be a ground to question the validity of the Election Commission’s decision. The Election Commission has the power to ensure the correctness of the entries in the voter list.
