SC RELUCTANT TO PLACE POLICE UNDER ECI IN W.B.

Amid allegations of violence and threats to booth level officers (BLOs) conducting the special intensive revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, the Supreme Court on Tuesday expressed reluctance to order that the state police be placed under the control of the Election Commission of India (ECI) or to deploy central armed forces until the revision exercise is completed.

- HT Correspondent

Observing that such an order, passed without adequate material, would create a precedent applicable to every state, the bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, underscored that ECI has a duty to protect BLOs and made it clear that any lack of cooperation from a state government would be a “valid cause of action” for the Commission to approach the top court for appropriate directions.

Anyone who clears the Section 16 threshold must stay on the electoral roll till a Section 19 disqualification kicks in —when that individual is held not to be a citizen of India —and till then a presumption of citizenship will operate, Farasat said,