Panaji: Bombay high court on Tuesday declined Election Commission’s plea to defer the hearing of a petition concerning deletion of six voters of a family during Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Goa.EC counsel Gaurish Agni vehemently argued before the high court that since Supreme Court and principal bench of Bombay High Court are seized of the matter of SIR, the matter should be deferred till the issue is decided.But the two-judge bench of Justices Valmiki Menezes and Amit Jamsandekar told him that Paresh Salgaonkar’s petition doesn’t challenge the validity of SIR and Supreme Court order will not come in the way of hearing the petition.Agni argued that the whole SIR exercise itself is under challenge. He said the high courts of Sikkim and Uttarakhand have deferred hearings as the matter is pending before SC, which has listed it for Oct 8.“We are very mindful of all these orders. (But) just look at all these prayers. At all those places the process of SIR is under way. Here it is not. Here (in Goa) the process is complete. Someone has gone on appeal and now comes to us against the appellate order,” the court said.Clarifying that they are not looking at SIR or its process, the judges said: “The challenge (in Salgaonkar’s petition) is to the appellate order and the original order rejecting Form 8 (for change of address).“Prima facie, we feel this petition is not covered by any of these orders. We are making it very clear. In Goa, SIR process is complete. In all these (other) matters, if you see the process, SIR is under way. And these are more in public interest… it has not been filed by a specific voter who has been left out.”Agni then said the EC has requested that senior advocate Ashutosh Kumbhakoni address the court in addition to submissions already made and sought time from the HC since Kumbhakoni was not free for a few days.The high court adjourned it until next Tuesday.
