New Delhi29 minutes ago
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The Supreme Court on Thursday (April 16) directed the Election Commission to release the supplementary voter list in West Bengal. This should include those voters whose appeals have been decided in the tribunal. The court said that those whose appeals are pending will not be allowed to vote.
Names of 90.83 lakh voters have been struck off in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Bengal. Tribunals have been formed on the orders of the Supreme Court to hear the appeals of these voters.
Voting for the assembly elections in Bengal is to be held in two phases on 23 April and 29 April. Where voting is to be held in the first phase, voters will be able to vote after the decision on their appeal is taken by April 21. Whereas voters of the second phase areas will be able to cast their vote till April 27 when the decision on the appeal is taken.
As soon as the Tribunal orders the addition of names, the Electoral Registration Officer should immediately amend the list.
The bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi was hearing petitions challenging the SIR process. In this process a large number of names have been removed from the voter list.
The tribunal should not be overburdened
- The court also said that the tribunal should not be overburdened, but a strong appeal system is necessary so that the rights of genuine voters can be protected.
- If a large number of voters remain out and the margin of victory in the election is less, then questions may be raised on the results.
- Election Commission of India (ECI) and State Governments should extend full cooperation to the Tribunal.
More than 34 lakh appeals before 19 tribunals
During the hearing, it was told that more than 34 lakh appeals are pending before 19 tribunals. These tribunals have been formed under the leadership of retired High Court judges.
The aim of the SIR campaign in West Bengal is said to be to remove duplicate and ineligible names from the voter list. However, political controversy is intense on this. The ruling party has accused large-scale voter exclusion, while the ECI is saying it is necessary for fair elections.
11.85% names removed in Bengal, mostly near Bangladesh border
The total voters in West Bengal in October 2025 were 7.66 crore. Of these, 90.83 lakh names have been removed so far. Approximately 11.85% voters were reduced. That means now there are 6.76 crore voters in the state.
The Election Commission has not released the final figures. Apart from this, out of 60.06 lakh voters who came under investigation, names of 27.16 lakh were removed. Names were also removed on a large scale in the districts bordering Bangladesh. In North 24 Parganas, 3.25 lakh names out of 5.91 lakh were removed. At the same time, out of 8.28 lakh, 2.39 lakh names were removed.
April 8: TMC met the Election Commission, allegations were thrown away
On April 8, a TMC delegation led by MP Derek O’Brien had reached Delhi to meet the Election Commission. But after the meeting, Derek said that we had asked for time on the SIR issue, but we were treated poorly during the meeting. The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) chased us away in just 5 minutes.
According to Election Commission sources, Derek O’Brien prevented and threatened the CEC from speaking. He was not listening to anything.
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