New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to entertain a petition challenging a West Bengal government order denying foodgrains to those deleted from the electoral roll during the recently concluded special intensive revision (SIR) exercise.
Event Context
Mondal said he had held a valid ration card since 2016 but later found his name excluded from the electoral roll. He has challenged the exclusion before the appellate tribunal.
Agreeing to expedite the matter, the bench said: “In view of the fact that the appeal of the petitioner against exclusion of name from the electoral roll is pending before the court-appointed appellate tribunal, we request the tribunal to decide the appeal expeditiously and preferably within two months.”
The petition argued that deletion from the electoral roll cannot be treated as a determination of citizenship.
“Deletion from the electoral roll does not amount to, and cannot operate as, a determination of citizenship… If a deletion under the SIR cannot even determine the citizenship of an elector, it most certainly cannot, by a sleight of administrative hand, be converted into a determination that a starving household is not entitled to subsidised food grain,” it stated.
The plea further contended that the right to food and the right to vote are governed by different criteria. It argued that making electoral roll deletion the basis for cancellation of ration cards strikes at the foundation of the right to life with dignity guaranteed under Article 21 of the Constitution.
It also said that the right to food is governed by the National Food Security Act (NFSA), which lays down a separate process for identifying eligible households and does not provide for deletion of beneficiaries on the basis of electoral roll revision.
Team Analysis
Directing the petitioner, a resident of West Bengal’s Nadia district, to approach the Calcutta high court, the top court also asked the appellate tribunal to decide his appeal against exclusion from the electoral roll within two months.
The petitioner, Mohibulla Mondal, told the apex court that he was only seeking a clarification that deletion of his name from the electoral roll would have no bearing on his entitlement to subsidised foodgrains under the PDS.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant said, “We understand that you have been removed from the electoral roll. But for any other services that you are deprived, you can approach the high court.”
Senior advocate Shadan Farasat, appearing for the petitioner, submitted that while upholding the validity of the SIR exercise in Bihar, the Supreme Court in its recent judgment in Association for Democratic Reforms v Election Commission of India had categorically held that deletion from the electoral roll “does not amount to a declaration that the individual is not a citizen of India”.
Seeking a clarification to this effect, Farasat said, “If this court can enforce this line from the judgment it will help us a lot. We are seeking a clarification from this court to this effect as this problem will ultimately come here.”
The bench, also comprising justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, said, “We are sure high courts will not give us a chance to clarify. If at all it comes to us, we will not hesitate to clarify.”
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The petition, filed through advocate Srishti Agnihotri, challenged a June 4 order issued by the West Bengal Food & Supplies Department. According to the plea, the order directed verification and deletion of PDS beneficiaries and the consequent cancellation of ration cards solely on the basis of the SIR of electoral rolls conducted this year.
According to the petition, no notice or opportunity of hearing was given before cancellation of beneficiaries’ names. It also alleged that the June 4 order required area inspectors to complete the verification exercise within just 11 days, raising the risk of mechanical decisions and mass cancellations without individual scrutiny.
