West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday expressed “extreme happiness” following the Supreme Court’s order on appellate tribunals and the easing of the earlier freeze on voter lists. However, despite the ruling, the Election Commission has not yet clarified how the 19 tribunals that began functioning earlier this week will operate.
The Supreme Court directed that individuals cleared by appellate tribunals for inclusion in electoral rolls at least two days before polling will be eligible to vote in the upcoming West Bengal Assembly elections. The decision relaxes the earlier freeze on voter lists and provides relief to many affected by the ongoing special intensive revision process.
Speaking to reporters in Cooch Behar, Banerjee said she received the news shortly after boarding a helicopter. She added that she had been urging people whose names were removed after adjudication to remain patient and approach the tribunals, expressing confidence that their names would eventually be restored. She described the development as a moment of great satisfaction.
She further stated that the Supreme Court has directed the publication of the first supplementary list on April 21 for the first phase of polling, while the second list for the next phase will be released on April 27. After the lists are published, she said, Trinamool Congress leaders and workers will distribute voter slips to ensure that those reinstated can cast their votes.
According to the court’s directions, appellate tribunals must resolve appeals by April 21 for the first phase of polling scheduled on April 23 and by April 27 for the second phase on April 29. If an appeal is accepted within this period, the voter’s name will be restored through a supplementary roll, allowing participation in the election. This ruling is significant because electoral rolls for the first and second phases had been frozen on April 6 and April 9, which had effectively excluded individuals whose cases were not decided in time. At that stage, the tribunals were barely functional and had cleared only two names.
Despite the relief provided by the court, concerns remain over the lack of clarity from the Election Commission regarding how the tribunals are functioning. With only a few days left before the first deadline, questions persist about whether public hearings will be held and how many cases have been processed.
West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Kumar Agarwal said that all 19 tribunals, staffed by retired judges, have begun working. However, he noted that exact figures on the number of cases resolved are not yet available, as a dashboard to track progress has not been set up.
Election Commission officials also did not provide clear information on whether public hearings would be conducted for the approximately 2.7 million voters whose names were removed from the rolls after adjudication.
Reacting to the issue, BJP state president Samik Bhattacharya said that the special revision exercise was carried out by the Election Commission, but alleged that several Form 7 submissions made by the BJP, which challenged the inclusion of deceased and fake voters, were not properly heard. He added that the party remains dissatisfied with the functioning of the Election Commission.
