No Final Decision Yet on Voter Appeal Tribunals in West Bengal

PTI, KOLKATA, MARCH 28, 2026 : The operationalisation of tribunals to hear appeals from voters whose names were missing from the electoral rolls during the SIR exercise in West Bengal is yet to be finalised, a senior official said on Saturday.

"The Supreme Court has directed that those whose names are deleted will have the option to approach tribunals. However, no final decision has been taken yet on when and where these tribunals will start functioning," Chief Electoral Officer Manoj Agarwal told reporters on Friday.

He said the state government has proposed certain locations for setting up the tribunals, while the Calcutta High Court has suggested the Judicial Academy at New Town as a possible venue.

"The West Bengal government has identified spaces in every district for the tribunals. Now, the High Court will make a decision," Agarwal said.

"After the HC's decision, it will be up to the state government to hand over the office premises. Once these processes are completed, the tribunals will start functioning to address voters' grievances," he added.

Agarwal, who attended a meeting at the Calcutta High Court on Thursday, said the software required for voters to challenge adjudication rulings is ready and "would be functional very soon, by this week or early next week."

On the absence of booth-wise lists indicating deletions and inclusions, a Deputy CEO said voters can individually verify their status on the Election Commission portal.

Officials said names flagged during the verification process have been placed under the "under adjudication" category pending further examination. These cases include suspected duplication, migration, or lack of proper documentation.

The EC on Friday night published the second supplementary list under the SIR of electoral rolls in West Bengal. The poll panel, however, did not provide details on the total number of deletions or inclusions in the list.

"The second list has been published. We cannot divulge anything more," an EC official said.