Kolkata, 01 October (H.S.): Retired Calcutta High Court judge Indrajit Chatterjee has offered to step down as the head of a tribunal handling appeals related to the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. Currently leading the SIR tribunal for Murshidabad district, the former judge cited the immense physical toll of travelling over 60 kilometres every day as the primary reason for his decision. He has submitted his conditional resignation to the Chief Justice, clarifying that he is entirely willing to continue discharging his duties if he is permitted to work from home or provided an office closer to his Salt Lake residence.

In his formal communication to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, the 70-year-old retired judge proposed stepping down from his administrative responsibilities effective November 2. He detailed that the distance from his Salt Lake home to the tribunal's current office in Joka, located in the South 24 Parganas district, is over 27 kilometres one way. Compounded by poor road conditions and severe daily traffic congestion, this two-way commute has become excessively arduous. Seeking a practical resolution, Chatterjee requested an alternative arrangement, specifically asking for a remote working option or the relocation of his workspace to within a 10 to 12-kilometre radius of his home. The letter was dispatched last week via email and speed post, with the judge seeking a conclusive response within three weeks.

Justice Chatterjee is presently adjudicating appeals for the Murshidabad district, where the names of over 4.5 lakh voters were recently struck off the electoral rolls due to alleged logical discrepancies. The Election Commission had constituted 19 such tribunals across West Bengal ahead of the assembly elections to hear grievances regarding the inclusion and exclusion of names during the intensive revision process. His potential departure comes at a crucial juncture and could significantly slow down the ongoing appellate hearings regarding the electoral roll modifications.

Retiring from the Calcutta High Court bench in 2017 upon reaching the superannuation age of 62, Chatterjee is notably not the first judicial figure to seek an exit from this specific administrative assignment. Previously, former Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court T.S. Sivagnanam had also resigned from the position of heading a similar SIR tribunal in the state. For now, the finalization of Justice Chatterjee's resignation on November 2 hinges entirely on whether the High Court administration accommodates his logistical conditions for a closer office or a work-from-home arrangement.

Hindusthan Samachar / Satya Prakash Singh