Bengal voter roll crisis: 23 lakh excluded ahead of polls, tribunals non-functional

The fate of over 23 lakh voters excluded from the electoral rolls following the SIR exercise in Bengal remains uncertain, as the tribunals responsible for hearing appeals were still non-functional until Saturday. Monday marks the final deadline for adjudication for voters across 152 constituencies going to polls in the first phase. For many of these individuals, the tribunals represent their last recourse after their initial appeals were rejected during the judicial review process.

The first phase of polling is set for April 23, with the nomination filing deadline ending at 3 pm on April 6. As per Election Commission (EC) rules, electoral rolls can be updated until the last date of filing nominations. Therefore, the voter lists for constituencies voting on April 23 will be frozen by 3 pm on Monday.

According to a senior EC official, nearly 52 lakh out of the more than 60 lakh cases marked as ‘under adjudication’ had been resolved by Thursday. “Over 700 judicial officers have been appointed to dispose of 60,06,475 doubtful and pending cases marked ‘under adjudication’ in the electoral rolls. They began work on Feb 24, and by April 2, about 52 lakh cases were disposed of. Of the cases processed so far, 55% have been approved, and those names have been added to the electoral rolls. The 45% of cases that were rejected have been excluded from the list, and they can appeal either online or offline against orders passed by the judicial officers to the appellate tribunals within 15 days,” an EC official said.

With a rejection rate of 45%, around 23.4 lakh individuals have already lost their voting rights during the judicial adjudication process and are now eligible to approach appellate tribunals. However, the required infrastructure for retired judges, who are expected to preside over these tribunals, is yet to be established. This delay has raised concerns about whether the adjudication process can begin within the stipulated timeframe, leaving the fate of these voters in limbo.

Despite the uncertainty surrounding the functioning of tribunals by Monday, large numbers of people continued to visit government offices on Saturday to file appeals. Many, however, were turned away and asked to return with documents they claimed had already been submitted during the SIR enumeration phase. On Friday, officials had cited a “govt holiday” and “other poll-related duties” as reasons for not accepting appeals. By Saturday, some voters were reportedly informed that their applications could not be processed because they had not brought supporting documents along with a formal application.

[With TOI inputs]