Daijiworld Media Network - Kolkata
Kolkata, Oct 1: Retired Calcutta High Court judge Indrajit Chatterjee has offered to resign as the head of a tribunal hearing appeals related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, citing difficulties in travelling more than 60 km every day.
Chatterjee, who heads the SIR tribunal for Murshidabad district, has offered to step down with effect from November 2. However, he has said he is willing to continue if he is permitted to work from home or is provided an office closer to his residence in Salt Lake.
The septuagenarian former judge has written to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, citing the distance between his residence and the tribunal office, poor road conditions and traffic congestion as reasons for his request.
“I cited the long distance of over 27 km from my Salt Lake residence to the tribunal at Joka in South 24 Parganas district, bad roads and traffic jams in the letter,” he told PTI.
Although the one-way distance is more than 27 km, Chatterjee said his daily commute involves travelling over 60 km.
He has sought an alternative arrangement that would allow him to continue heading the tribunal without making the daily journey. “I have asked for the option of working from home or an office within a 10 to 12 km radius of my residence,” he said.
Chatterjee sent the letter to the Chief Justice by email and speed post last week and has sought a response within three weeks.
The retired judge is currently heading the SIR tribunal for Murshidabad district, where more than 4.5 lakh elector names were deleted over alleged logical discrepancies. The tribunal is hearing appeals related to the electoral roll revision.
The Election Commission constituted 19 SIR tribunals in West Bengal to hear appeals concerning the inclusion and exclusion of names from electoral rolls as part of the revision exercise ahead of the Assembly elections.
Chatterjee retired as a Calcutta High Court judge in 2017 after reaching the superannuation age of 62.
He is the second former Calcutta High Court judge to step down from an SIR tribunal. Earlier, former Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court TS Sivagnanam resigned as the head of one of the tribunals constituted in West Bengal.
For now, Chatterjee has offered to resign from November 2, while making it clear that he is willing to continue if he is allowed to work from home or is provided a tribunal office closer to his Salt Lake residence.