No dispute now: Ex-Calcutta HC judge after name appears on SIR list

Justice Sahidullah Munshi, a retired Calcutta High Court judge, clarified on Saturday, March 28, that his name, along with his wife and son, has now appeared in the second supplementary Special Intensive Revision (SIR) list published late Friday, March 27.

“In the second supplementary list published, it was shown that our names have been cleared. Now it seems that there is no dispute,” he told Bar and Bench.

Munshi, who is also the West Bengal Waqf Board Chairperson, had claimed that his name had been deleted despite submitting documents twice and offering to provide his Aadhaar and PAN cards.

He decided to move an appellate tribunal after no reasons were given for the deletion.

Describing the situation as distressing, he said earlier, “This is extremely humiliating and amounts to harassment. I do not understand how the decision was taken or on what basis my name was removed.”

The ruling Trinamool Congress criticised the Election Commission of India over Munshi’s exclusion, alleging it reflects the suffering of ordinary citizens “When a former high court judge’s name is deleted from the voters’ list, one can imagine the plight of ordinary citizens, including the poor and marginalised,” a TMC leader said.

The SIR process in West Bengal is already under heavy scrutiny, with the state government raising serious allegations against the Election Commission over voter disenfranchisement.

Multiple pockets of rural Bengal, specifically the Muslim-dominated areas, have seen numerous voter deletions, with residents claiming they ensured every step was followed, yet their names were not included.