West Bengal Tribunals clear 0.26% of 25 lakh voter appeals

The SIR-linked appellate tribunals in West Bengal have disposed of only 6,581 cases, around 0.26 per cent of the nearly 25 lakh appeals filed against decisions taken by judicial officers during the electoral roll revision exercise, official data showed on Thursday.

Of the cases decided by 12 of the 19 tribunals till May 14, 4,043 appeals were allowed, meaning names of nearly 61.5 per cent of disposed cases made it back to the electoral rolls, while 1,267 were rejected, according to the ECI data.

The status of over 1,200 remaining cases among the disposed matters was not immediately clear from the data. The tribunals were constituted on March 20, following Supreme Court directions to establish an appellate mechanism for grievances arising out of judicial officers’ decisions during the revision process.

Kolkata North and Kolkata South together accounted for 1,777 disposals, around 27 per cent of the total cases decided so far.

The tribunal handling the two electoral districts was headed by retired Calcutta High Court Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam, who resigned on May 7, citing personal reasons. More than 51,000 appeals remain pending in the two districts.

Murshidabad and Malda, which recorded large numbers of appeals and deletions during the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls, reported comparatively low disposal figures.

Murshidabad saw 112 appeals disposed of out of more than 6.29 lakh filed, while Malda recorded 185 disposals against over 5.26 lakh pleas.

According to officials, hearings were conducted through both online and offline modes, though physical appearances remained limited. The number of disposed appeals has risen to around 10,000, although updated official figures are yet to be released, they said.

“The appellate process follows the Supreme Court directives, and we are making every effort to ensure eligible electors receive an opportunity to present their cases,” a senior Election Commission official said.

Another ECI functionary said the revision exercise was aimed at improving the integrity of the electoral rolls.

“The Special Intensive Revision was undertaken to address discrepancies and ensure greater accuracy and transparency in the voters’ list,” the official said. The Supreme Court had on February 20 directed judicial intervention in the revision exercise, observing a trust deficit between the ECI and the then West Bengal Government over the preparation of electoral rolls.

Acting on the apex court’s directions, the Calcutta High Court recommended around 700 judicial officers to examine cases flagged during the revision process.

These officers scrutinised appeals of more than 60 lakh electors identified through the ECI’s verification process for alleged inconsistencies in identity-related documents.

Ahead of the Assembly elections held on April 23 and 29, over 27 lakh names were deleted from the electoral rolls following the verification exercise.

The apex court ordered the setting up of appellate tribunals comprising retired high court judges to hear challenges against the decisions of judicial officers.

A total of 1,607 voters cleared by the tribunals up to 48 hours before the first and second polling were allowed to exercise their franchise.