People, whose names have reportedly been left out in the post-SIR electoral rolls, gather to apply for inclusion of their names, in Balurghat, West Bengal.
| Photo Credit: PTI
The Election Commission of India (EC) formed 19 Appellate Tribunals for West Bengal to hear disputed case appeals rejected by the judicial officers who are disposing of the 60 lakh under-adjudication cases in the State following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). The move comes amid rising concerns over pending adjudication cases in the State, even as Assembly election is just a month away.
“The EC hereby constitutes the following Appellate Tribunal(s) for hearing appeals against orders passed by the designated Judicial Officers in respect of inclusion or exclusion of prospective electors in the electoral roll of the State of West Bengal,” the order published by the EC on Friday (March 20, 2026) in Delhi said.
The single-member tribunals led by former judges have been formed for 23 districts, including North 24 Parganas, South 24 Parganas, Purba Medinipur, Cooch Behar, Nadia, Malda, and Birbhum, and the State capital Kolkata.
Appeals may be filed by the concerned people online on the EC website. The applicant can also physically visit the District Magistrate, Sub-Divisional Magistrate, or Sub-Divisional Officer’s office to file an appeal to reconsider the inclusion of their names in the State’s electoral roll.
This came as a response to the Supreme Court order of March 10, where they asked the Calcutta High Court to request former Chief Justices and judges of High Courts to preside over the appellate tribunals.
In West Bengal, after the SIR process, at least 1.6 crore people were called for hearings, 1.3 crore were categorised under logical discrepancy cases, and 32 lakh were unmapped voters. Among the 1.6 crore hearings, 60 lakh have been put under adjudication. Over 700 judicial officers from West Bengal, Odisha, and Jharkhand have also been roped in to speed up the process and clear all the pending cases before the State heads to the polls.
Most political parties, including the ruling Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), and the Congress, have raised serious concerns over the disenfranchisement of lakhs of voters.
On Friday (March 20), Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, while presenting her party’s manifesto for the upcoming elections, expressed apprehension that the judicial adjudication would not be completed before the polls.
“I have heard that only 22 lakh cases have been adjudicated so far, out of which 10 lakh names have been deleted,” Ms. Banerjee said. A particular community had been targeted through the exercise and she had knocked on all doors, including EC and the Supreme Court, to get answers, the CM said.
The right to vote is the biggest right, Ms. Banerjee said, alleging that the right was being snatched away by the EC at behest of the BJP.
At least 22 lakh of the 60 lakh cases have already been disposed of, according to the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal, but no supplementary voter lists have been published till now.
The final voter list was published on February 28, and no supplementary lists have come out even after 21 days, raising concerns. The State is heading to the polls on April 23 and 29, and counting will be on May 4.
Published – March 21, 2026 08:46 pm IST
