These 22.2 lakh appeals make up around 82% of the 27 lakh voters whose names were deleted and placed under adjudication during the revision ahead of the Assembly elections.
At least 16.1 lakh appeals were filed against the inclusion of voters.
The Election Commission data also stated that of the 38.2 lakh appeals, around 1.2 lakh had been decided by the time of the submission – which translates to 3.1% of the total appeals filed.
Data submitted in an annexure to the court showed that 93% of the appeals decided by the tribunals resulted in the inclusion of voters in the electoral rolls.
The special intensive revision of voter rolls in West Bengal was carried out before the Assembly elections in April.
The Election Commission has informed the Supreme Court that of the 38.2 lakh appeals filed before tribunals against decisions taken during the special intensive revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal, 22.2 lakh were filed by voters whose names had been deleted from the electoral rolls.
These 22.2 lakh appeals make up around 82% of the 27 lakh voters whose names were deleted and placed under adjudication during the revision ahead of the Assembly elections.
At least 16.1 lakh appeals were filed against the inclusion of voters. The Election Commission did not specify who had filed these appeals.
The poll panel made the submission in a reply to an application filed by Derek O’Brien, an MP of the former Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee-led faction of the Trinamool Congress.
The Election Commission data also stated that of the 38.2 lakh appeals, around 1.2 lakh had been decided by the time of the submission – which translates to 3.1% of the total appeals filed. The tribunals had started hearing appeals in April.
Data submitted in an annexure to the court showed that 93% of the appeals decided by the tribunals resulted in the inclusion of voters in the electoral rolls.
On August 6, The Telegraph quoted an unidentified poll official as saying that only 7 lakh of the 38.2 lakh appeals before the tribunals in West Bengal were against deletions from the electoral rolls and 31 lakh were challenging inclusion in the list.
This data was submitted before the court on August 25 by Congress leader Prasenjit Bose during a hearing of his plea related to the voter roll revision exercise. The appeals against inclusion were filed by the Election Commission and individual objectors, lawyer Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for Bose, had told the court at the time.
The special intensive revision of voter rolls in West Bengal was carried out before the Assembly elections in April.
Final rolls published in February initially excluded more than 61 lakh voters, with the process continuing through supplementary lists and adjudication of about 60 lakh “doubtful and pending” cases.
By April 6, ahead of the Assembly elections, about 91 lakh voters , nearly 11.9% of West Bengal’s electorate before the revision process began, had been removed from the electoral rolls.
Since the nationwide exercise began, concerns have been raised that the revision could eliminate genuine voters from the rolls and even shape electoral outcomes , as Scroll has reported.
Inputs from Anant Gupta. Edited by Tanya Shrivastava.
