In a supplementary list published on Wednesday, the Election Commission added 136 voters out of the 27 lakh whose appeals were reportedly pending before the appellate tribunal, ABP Ananda reported. The appeals of these 136 voters were accepted before the first phase of the Assembly elections.
The approval rate for the appeals was 98.5% as only 138 cases had been decided on by the tribunals before the first phase of polling, as part of the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. The remaining two appeals were rejected, Aaj Tak Bangla reported.
About 34 lakh appeals were reportedly pending before the tribunals. Of these, seven lakh were against names being included in the rolls and 27 lakh were filed by persons who were excluded, News9 reported.
On April 16, the Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to publish a supplementary electoral roll in West Bengal to include voters whose appeals against deletions have been accepted by the appellate tribunals.
Persons whose appeals have been cleared by the tribunals before April 21 should be included for voting in the first phase of Assembly elections, the court had said. Those who are cleared by April 27 should be included in the final electoral rolls for the second phase of the polls.
All decisions made by the tribunals on the addition and deletion of voters by those dates must be reflected in the final voter lists.
The first phase of polling will be held on April 23 and the second on April 29. The votes will be counted on May 4.
This came after the Election Commission froze the electoral rolls for the first phase of polling on April 9.
SIR appellate tribunals
The Election Commission on February 28 published the final electoral roll for West Bengal, showing that more than 61 lakh voters had been excluded. However, the process had continued with about 60 lakh “doubtful and pending” cases remaining under adjudication based on their objections to their exclusions from the draft rolls published in December.
Several supplementary lists were released, in which the names of more voters have been included.
The process had concluded on April 6 after judicial officers adjudicated the 60 lakh claims and objections. However, voters who were removed during the adjudication process can appeal in 19 tribunals set up for the purpose.
On February 20, the Supreme Court ordered that judicial officers of the rank of district judge or additional district judge be appointed to help complete the revision exercise in the state.
On March 10, the top court ordered the formation of appellate tribunals composed of former High Court chief justices and judges to hear appeals against exclusions. A person whose claim for inclusion in the electoral rolls has been rejected by a judicial officer can approach the tribunal.
Nearly 91 lakh voters have been removed from West Bengal’s voter lists as part of the special intensive revision of the electoral rolls. The deletions represent nearly 11.9% of the state’s electorate of 7.6 crore that existed before the revision process began.
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