From former Lok Sabha MP to univ HoD, Kol feels SIR’s knockout punch, queues up at tribunals
Times of India | 8 April 2026
Kolkata: Forty-eight hours before the electoral roll is frozen, voters deleted in the SIR exercise — from prominent personalities, such as former MP Tarun Mandal and associate professor and head of the Islamic theology department at Aliah University, Mohd Shamim Akhter, to ordinary citizens — are in a rush to file appeals for the restoration of their voting rights so that they are not turned away from polling booths on April 29 when the city goes to polls.
Thousands of people, stripped of their voting rights, on Tuesday converged on Survey Building in Alipore and Jessop Building on N S Road to file their appeals in the tribunals set up by the EC to hear appeals from citizens concerned and examine the reasons behind the omission of their names from the electoral roll. As the applicants arrived, cops outside escorted them to designated tables, where officials received their applications after checking the documents, as prescribed by EC.
The entry to the buildings was, however, restricted as candidates contesting the upcoming Assembly elections were also present there to file their nominations. While police and central force personnel stood guard outside both the premises, those going to file their applications to restore their voting rights had to explain the purpose of their visit before being let in. Some of the people said they got their turn to file their appeals on Tuesday after being turned away a couple of days earlier for not bringing either their documents or written prayers.
An official at Survey Building said, "Since Monday, we have been witnessing this rush of people coming to us to make appeals against the deletion of their names. We are telling them to check their credentials before receiving their appeals and uploading them for the tribunal."
Renu Pramanik, a deleted voter from Bhowanipore, was seen pleading with the officials at Survey Building to "do the needful" to revive her name from the "deletion dump yard". "I have been casting votes for the past two decades and never imagined that my voting right would be taken away at the age of 45. During the SIR hearing, I had submitted all the documents that they had sought from me. But I was placed under adjudication and finally my name was omitted from the SIR list. I have made my appeal. Now, I am waiting for the tribunal verdict, which I don't know when will come," she said.
Entally resident Amit Ray, whose name was deleted from the electoral roll because of a discrepancy in official records, visited Jessop Building. He said most of his documents identify him as Amitlal Ray, while on the 2002 SIR list, his name appeared as Amritlal Ray. Because of this discrepancy, his name was put under adjudication on this year's list and subsequently, deleted from the roll. "I appeared for the hearing and submitted all the documents, after which my case went under adjudication. I applied for an affidavit and received it from the court on Monday," Ray said. "I have come here to file an appeal at to restore my name to the electoral roll. I have never missed voting but I don't know what will happen this time."
Another deleted voter, Sarmin, said she was carrying all the relevant documents and would seek to know the reason behind the omission of her name from the electoral roll. She said officials told her there might have been an error and that the matter was being examined. She was advised to contact the BLO in her area.