The Election Commission late on Monday published the first supplementary voter list after adjudications as part of the special intensive revision exercise in poll-bound West Bengal.
Of the more than 60 lakh pending cases in the state, 29 lakh cases have been adjudicated so far by judicial officers deputed by the Supreme Court, The Indian Express reported. The poll panel, however, did not specify how many voters were dropped and how many were included in the list.
Speaking to reporters earlier on Monday ahead of the list’s publication, West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal said that he did not know how many names had been approved or rejected at this moment, The Times of India reported.
Agarwal said that those left out of the supplementary list can challenge the decision in the appellate tribunals to be set up by the Calcutta High Court.
However, the date for voters to challenge the decision or when the tribunals will be formed is yet to be announced.
“The state government will provide space for the tribunals and the High Court will give the go ahead on the arrangements,” The Indian Express quoted the chief electoral officer as saying. “Only then the tribunals will be formed in all the 23 districts.”
Agarwal said that all names have been adjudicated from districts that had a lower number of pending cases such as Kalimpong, Jhargram, Purulia and Bankura, The Indian Express reported. He added that the judicial officers who were engaged in those districts have now been transferred to other areas that have a larger number of adjudication cases.
West Bengal is among the 12 states and Union Territories where the special intensive revision of electoral roll is underway.
On February 28, the Election Commission published the final electoral roll for West Bengal. At the time, the names of 5.46 lakh persons were deleted from the voter list, while 60,06,675 “doubtful and pending” cases were marked as “under adjudication” in the electoral rolls.
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 amid a tussle between the Trinamool Congress government and the Election Commission.
Four days later, the court allowed judges from Odisha and Jharkhand to also be deployed to decide on the claims and objections raised during the process.
On March 10, the Supreme Court directed the formation of an appellate tribunal composed of former High Court chief justices and judges to hear appeals against exclusions from the voter list in West Bengal.
A person whose claim for inclusion in the electoral roll had been rejected by a judicial officer can approach the appellate tribunal, it said. The Supreme Court passed the order after concerns were raised about the lack of an independent appellate mechanism to deal with appeals against the rejection of their claims by judicial officers.
The special intensive revision in West Bengal comes ahead of the Assembly elections in the state, which will be held in two phases on April 23 and April 29. The results will be announced on May 4.
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