Deleted from electoral rolls, thousands of voters pin hopes on Supreme Court hearing
Telegraph | 6 April 2026
Tens of thousands of voters deleted from the electoral rolls after adjudication are anxiously awaiting Monday’s Supreme Court hearing to find out whether they will get a chance to vote in the Assembly elections.
Following the established rules, the electoral roll for the first phase of elections will freeze on Monday (April 6), and the roll for the second phase will freeze on Thursday (April 9). According to sources from the poll panel, the Representation of the People Act, 1950, specifies that the electoral roll will be frozen on the final date for filing nominations.
“It remains to be seen whether the Supreme Court extends the deadline for freezing electoral rolls and whether those who had submitted appeals to the tribunals are heard before the rolls are frozen,” said a voter who has applied to the tribunal.
Elections in Bengal will happen in two phases — on April 23 and 29 — with Calcutta going to the polls in the second phase. The last date of filing nominations for the first phase is April 6, and for the second phase, April 9.
Officials preparing electoral rolls said that the tribunals established to assess appeals from voters who were deleted have not yet commenced full operations.
“I do not know whether I will be able to vote in the Assembly elections. The possibility of voting seems quite low now. I have never missed voting. Though I live in Delhi now, I always came to Calcutta to vote,” said Gaurav Ghosh, a voter from the Rashbehari Assembly constituency and a lawyer at the Supreme Court.
Ghosh’s name has been deleted from the electoral roll after adjudication.
Hasir Mallick, a voter from the Uttarpara Assembly constituency, has also filed an appeal after his name was struck off the rolls. “Much depends on what the Supreme Court says on Monday. If the apex court extends the deadline for inclusion of names in the rolls, I may have some chance of making it to the voters’ list before it is frozen,” Mallick said.
A significant number of deleted voters, or their supporters, are advocating for the creation of tribunals in the districts, which would allow individuals from those areas to avoid travelling to Calcutta for tribunal appearances.
In a notification dated March 20, the Election Commission of India had declared the names of 19 retired judges who will sit on the tribunals and the districts whose cases they will hear. However, a Supreme Court order later mentioned that all the tribunals will sit in Calcutta.
In its order dated April 1, the Supreme Court said that “the Appellate Tribunals shall function at Calcutta”. The court’s order stated that the tribunals will function from the Syama Prasad Mookerjee National Institute of Water and Sanitation (SPM-NIWAS), which is located less than a kilometre from the IIM Joka campus.
A voter told Metro on Sunday that many like him would request the Supreme Court to reconsider its decision and ask the tribunals to sit in the respective districts. “It will be of great benefit to the voters if the tribunals sit in respective districts and hear the voters,” said Mallick.
In its April 1 order, the apex court asked the tribunals to give the appellants a hearing. The court’s order says: “The Appellate Tribunals are free to evolve their own procedures in accordance with the principles of natural justice, and are requested to adjudicate the appeals after providing the parties with a fair opportunity of being heard.”
In the order, the apex court fixed the next hearing for Monday. The order says: “...post these matters on 06.04.2026 at 4:00 P.M.”