Electoral roll freeze bars voter addition, SC lays down rules for physical filing of appeal

Kolkata: Long queues formed across parts of West Bengal as voters sought to file appeals against deletions in the SIR process, even as the Supreme Court clarified that no names can be added once electoral rolls are frozen for ongoing polls.

The court allowed appeals to continue for future corrections and issued guidelines ensuring transparency, including digitisation of offline applications and mandatory acknowledgments.

It also expanded the scope of appeals beyond wrongful exclusions. With lakhs of cases pending, a uniform procedure for tribunals has been mandated. However, the court refused interim relief or supplementary rolls, stressing adherence to the election schedule.