Fate of 23 lakh deleted voters hangs in balance as tribunals yet to start work

KOLKATA: The fate of more than 23 lakh voters excluded from the electoral rolls post-SIR in Bengal hangs in balance as the tribunals for adjudication of appeals remained non-functional till Saturday. Monday is the last day for adjudication for voters of the 152 constituencies going to polls in the first phase. For these voters, tribunals are the last hope after their first appeals were rejected during the judicial review process.

The first phase of the elections is scheduled for April 23, for which the deadline to submit nominations ends at 3pm on April 6. Under EC rules, the voter list can be published until the last date of filing nominations. So, the electoral rolls for the constituencies where polling will be held on April 23 will freeze by 3pm on Monday.




According to a senior EC official, around 52 lakh of a little over 60 lakh cases marked as 'under adjudication' had been disposed of till 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.

Considering the rejection rate of 45%, 23.4 lakh persons have already lost their voting rights in the judicial adjudication process so far and are eligible to appeal to the appellate tribunals. However, the necessary infrastructure for retired judges - who are expected to preside over the tribunal proceedings - has not yet been put in place. This has cast doubts over whether the adjudication process can begin within the stipulated timeframe, raising concerns over the fate of the 23.4 lakh voters.

Even as uncertainty loomed over whether the tribunals can become functional by Monday, the rush at govt offices to file appeals continued Saturday. However, many were turned away and asked to return with documents they had already submitted during the enumeration phase of SIR.

On Friday, officials had cited a "govt holiday" and "other poll-related duties" for not accepting appeals. On Saturday, voters were reportedly told their requests could not be processed as they had not brought supporting documents along with a formal application.

This, despite senior EC officials stating last month that no additional documents would be required for those submitting offline appeals.

Meanwhile, in a release Saturday, the CEO's office said around 8,000 appeals under Section 24 of Representation of People Act had been submitted with it, which had been to district magistrates concerned for necessary action.
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