From teachers to medicos, SIR deletions have stripped people of voting rights in Bengal (File photo)
KOLKATA: A senior central government officer in a PSU, an assistant teacher in a govt school, a medical professional preparing for a national entrance exam and an insurance agent whose licence hinges on his voter status – all moved Calcutta high court last week over their livelihoods being on the line after their names were deleted from Bengal’s electoral rolls during SIR.Justice Krishna Rao told their lawyers that the petitions would be heard at a later date, offering no relief before the election or, in the doctor’s case, before his exam.SIR deletions have stripped 27 lakh people in the state of voting rights. The four pending petitions now highlight a dimension that goes beyond disenfranchisement.
Petitioners flag citizenship fears in electoral purge
Petitioners argue that for employees and licensed professionals, removal from electoral rolls brings their citizenship into question, which could lead to departmental action, service termination and even licence cancellation.One of them, a 40-year-old PSU assistant general manager from Bhagabangola assembly constituency of Murshidabad, has been in service for more than a decade.His name appeared in draft rolls published on Dec 16 last year, but he was called for a hearing over a “clerical discrepancy” in his father’s name in the 2002 records. He submitted 11 documents but didn’t make it to the final rolls. His appeal before the designated tribunal came to nothing. “The sudden removal of my name from the rolls creates a cloud of suspicion regarding my citizenship, which may… jeopardise my service benefits, or act as a bar to continued employment,” his petition reads.The assistant teacher filed a similar petition. “SIR had taken a lot from these people, their right to vote being a crucial loss. Now, these people are worried about their jobs and whether this deletion will complicate things in their professional lives,” his lawyer told Justice Rao on April 28, seeking an urgent hearing.A 52-year-old insurance agent from Nadia’s Tehatta, whose name had been included in the 2002 rolls, moved court over the possibility of disenfranchisement leading to his licence being cancelled.“His position is not merely a source of livelihood but one of public trust… The arbitrary deletion of his name from the electoral rolls directly threatens the validity of his insurance licence and agency appointment,” his lawyer said.For a 32-year-old medical professional from Nadia’s Kaliganj constituency, proving he is a “bona fide citizen” is a prerequisite to appear for the Institute of National Importance Combined Entrance Test conducted by AIIMS Delhi and scheduled for May 16. His parents and three brothers passed the SIR test but he did not.The young man, who did his house staffship at Kolkata’s Sambhunath Pandit Hospital and Chittaranjan Seva Sadan, hopes judicial intervention would “not only restore (his) legal right to vote but also protect (his) career”.
