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

The fate of over 23 lakh voters excluded from voter rolls following the implementation of SIR in Bengal remains unclear as the courts responsible for appeals were still non-functional till Saturday. Monday is the deadline for voters from the 152 constituencies going to the polls in the first phase to make a decision. For many of these people, the courts are their last resort after their initial appeal is rejected in the judicial review process.

The first phase of voting is set for April 23, and the candidacy application period will end at 15.00 on April 6. According to the Election Commission (EC) rules, voter registers can be updated until the deadline for candidacy applications. For this reason, voter lists for the constituencies that will vote on April 23 will be frozen until 15.00 on Monday.

According to a senior EC official, out of more than 60 lakh cases marked as ‘under decision’, around 52 lakh were resolved on Thursday. “More than 700 judicial officers have been appointed to dispose of 60,06,475 doubtful and pending cases marked as ‘under trial’ in the electoral rolls. They started working on February 24 and around 52 lakh cases have been disposed of by April 2. 55% of the cases processed so far have been approved and these names have been added to the electoral rolls. 45% of the rejected cases have been delisted, an EC official said, by judicial officers before the appellate courts.” He said that they can appeal against the orders given online or offline within 15 days.

With a rejection rate of 45 per cent, around 23.4 lakh people have already lost their right to vote in the judicial process and now have the right to approach appellate courts. However, the necessary infrastructure for the retired judges expected to preside over these courts has not yet been established. This delay has raised concerns about whether the decision process can begin within the stipulated time, leaving the fate of these voters uncertain.

Despite uncertainty regarding the functioning of the courts until Monday, large numbers of people continued to visit government offices on Saturday to file appeals. However, many of them were turned away and asked to return with documents they claimed had already been submitted during the SIR counting phase. On Friday, officials cited “public holidays” and “other duties related to the survey” as reasons for not accepting the objections. It was reported on Saturday that some voters were informed that their applications could not be processed because they did not bring supporting documents along with the official application.

[With TOI inputs]