EC advises deleted voters to approach tribunals, not reapply through Form 6
Telegraph | 31 March 2026
Voters marked “deleted” in the post-SIR supplementary lists will have to approach appellate tribunals headed by retired high court judges, as re-enrolling through Form 6 may not be an option, Election Commission officials said.
Amid confusion surrounding the process, booth-level officers (BLOs) in several constituencies have been advising deleted voters to bypass the tribunal process by applying as new voters using Form 6.
“The Supreme Court has directed the formation of appellate tribunals for voters deleted during the adjudication process. Normal jurisprudence says that if there is a specific provision available for remedy, the aggrieved person must use it. In this case, the appellate tribunals are the remedy,” said an official from the office of Bengal’s chief electoral officer (CEO).
“BLOs are wrong if they have asked voters deleted during the adjudication process to file Form 6,” the official added.
A 37-year-old voter from the Chowringhee Assembly constituency, who found his name deleted in the second supplementary list, said he had initially been advised to submit Form 6. “The BLO told me to immediately file a Form 6, but I was not sure whether it would work for me. I later learnt that the online window for applying before the tribunals has opened. I will file an appeal soon,” he said.
Hasir Mallick, a voter from Serampore, had a similar experience. Mallick had submitted Form 6 after his name was struck off in the first supplementary list, on the advice of his BLO. He was subsequently called for a hearing at the office of the Serampore sub-divisional officer (SDO) on Sunday.
“I was asked to fill out an annexure form at the SDO’s office. Officials then asked whether I was a new voter or someone whose name had been deleted,” Mallick said. When he told them that his name had been removed during adjudication, he was asked to approach the appellate tribunals. “They said Form 6 will not work for me,” he said.
On March 20, the EC set up 19 appellate tribunals to examine appeals from voters whose names were deleted from the rolls during the adjudication process.
Earlier, on March 10, the Supreme Court had asked Sujoy Paul, Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, to constitute special appellate tribunals with former high court judges to examine appeals from those excluded from Bengal’s voter list during the SIR.
Officials in the Bengal CEO’s office said the tribunals are yet to begin assessing appeals.
Appeal process
Aggrieved voters can file appeals online or submit written representations against the adjudication decision at the offices of district magistrates or SDOs.
In Calcutta, written appeals can be submitted to the district election officers (DEOs) of north or south Calcutta, depending on the constituency where they vote. There is no prescribed format for such submissions, sources said. Voters can write their grievance on a sheet of paper and address it to the DEO concerned.
“A drop box for voters in north Calcutta will be available on the second floor of Jessop Building from Tuesday,” a poll panel source said.
The seven Assembly constituencies under the DEO, north Calcutta, include Cossipore-Belgachia, Beleghata, Maniktala, Shyampukur, Jorasanko, Entally and Chowringhee.
Those under the DEO, south Calcutta, include Ballygunge, Bhabanipur, Calcutta Port and Rashbehari.
Voters from Kasba, Behala East, Behala West, Jadavpur and Tollygunge constituencies, which fall under South 24-Parganas district, will have to submit written appeals to the district magistrate and DEO of South 24-Parganas.