Tribunal set to begin soon to decide on voter deletion as appeals mount

Kolkata: A team comprising retired judges assigned to the appellate tribunal, including the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, along with senior officials from the Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) office, visited the Dr Syama Prasad Mookerjee – National Institute of Water and Sanitation (SPM-NIWAS) at Joka on Sunday to review the infrastructure developed for the tribunal.

Sources said the tribunal office set up at the institute is nearly ready and is expected to become operational within a day or two. As many as 19 retired judges will preside over the tribunal, assisted by three ADM-rank officials.

Of the 60,06,675 voters placed under adjudication, 27,16,393 names have been struck off.

The tribunal will hear petitions from voters who have appealed against the deletion of their names from the rolls.

Support staff were given detailed training on Friday to assist judges in document scrutiny and disposal of petitions.

Each judge will be aided by four to five staff members for document verification and case processing. The voter lists for both phases of the Assembly elections in Bengal, scheduled for April 23 and April 29, have already been frozen. No changes will be made unless directed by the judiciary.

A key concern among voters whose names have been deleted is whether they will be able to cast their votes in the 2026 elections if their appeals are upheld by the tribunal. The apex court is expected to decide this issue on Monday.