KOLKATA — A division bench of the Calcutta High Court, on Wednesday, sought report from the West Bengal government seeking details of the provisions made by the administration for providing free ration and the benefits of the Annapurna Yojana to those whose names have been deleted from the voters’ list in course of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) earlier this year.
Paschim Banga Khet Majoor Samity, an independent trade union of agricultural labourers, marginal farmers and share-croppers in the state, recently filed public interest litigation (PIL) at the High Court alleging that ration and benefits under Annapurna Yojana, a monthly financial assistance scheme for women, are being denied to those whose names have been deleted during the SIR process.
The matter came up for hearing at the division bench of the High Court’s Acting Chief Justice Tapabrata Chakraborty and Justice Partha Sarathi Chatterjee on Wednesday.
At the end of the hearing, the division bench asked the state government to submit a report in the court detailing the state administration’s observations in the matter by July 21.
During the hearing, the state’s newly appointed advocate general, Surajit Nath Mitra, informed the court that he had received a copy of the case on Wednesday and that there was a necessity to investigate the matter.
He also argued that only after a detailed investigation into the matter would information surface about the names that have been deleted in the SIR revision process and who all were denied Annapurna Yojana and ration benefits.
“Based on that investigation, the state government will take steps, and the court will be informed,” the advocate general argued.
The counsel for the petitioner informed the court that the state government issued a notification on June 19 this year informing that the SIR data would be used to determine who would receive ration and Annapurna Yojana money.
“We fear that the marginalised, common and working-class people of the state, workers, migrant workers, and women may be deprived of government benefits due to this decision. According to the National Food Security Act of India, 2013, everyone should get food at a low price. Therefore, this notification brought by the state government might go against that principle,” the petitioner’s counsel said in his counter-argument.
After hearing the arguments of both parties in the matter, the division bench directed the state government to submit a report in the court detailing the state administration’s observations in the matter by July 21.
