From teachers to doctors, SIR deletion has taken away voting rights from people in Bengal (file photo)

KOLKATA: A senior central government official at a PSU, an assistant teacher at a government school, a medical professional preparing for the national entrance exam and an insurance agent whose license depends on his voter status – all moved the Calcutta High Court last week with their livelihoods in danger after their names were removed from Bengal’s voter list during the SIR.Justice Krishna Rao told his lawyers that the petitions would be heard at a later date, with no relief given before the elections or, in the doctor’s case, before his examination.With the removal of SIR, voting rights have been taken away from 27 lakh people in the state. The four pending petitions now highlight a dimension that goes beyond voting rights.

petitioner flag fear of citizenship in election cleaning

The petitioners argue that for employees and licensed professionals, removal of names from the voter list brings their citizenship into question, leading to departmental action, termination of service and even cancellation of license.One of them, a 40-year-old PSU assistant general manager from Bhagabangola assembly constituency in Murshidabad, has been in service for more than a decade.His name had appeared in the draft roll published on December 16 last year, but he was called for hearing on a “clerical discrepancy” in his father’s name in the 2002 records. He submitted 11 documents but could not make it to the final list. His appeal before the designated tribunal yielded no results.“The sudden removal of my name from the list has created a cloud of doubt about my citizenship, which… may jeopardize my service benefits, or become a hindrance in continued employment,” his petition said.One such petition has been filed by an assistant teacher. Their lawyer, seeking an urgent hearing, told Justice Rao on April 28, “SIR has taken away a lot from these people, their right to vote is a significant loss. Now, these people are worried about their jobs and whether this deletion will complicate things in their professional lives.”A 52-year-old insurance agent from Tehatta, Nadia, whose name was included in the 2002 list, approached the court over the possibility of his license being cancelled.His lawyer said, “His position is not only a source of livelihood but also of public trust… The arbitrary removal of his name from the voter list directly threatens the validity of his insurance license and agency appointment.”For a 32-year-old medical professional from Nadia’s Kaliganj constituency, proving that he is a “true citizen” is a prerequisite for appearing in the Joint Entrance Examination for Institutes of National Importance, conducted by AIIMS Delhi and scheduled for May 16. His parents and three brothers passed the SIR exam, but he did not.The young man, who holds house staffships at Kolkata’s Sambhunath Pandit Hospital and Chittaranjan Seva Sadan, is hopeful that the judicial intervention will “not only restore (his) legal right to vote but also protect (his) career”.