All eyes on tribunals after order, at 100 daily, judges may hear only 20,000: Lawyer
Telegraph | 17 April 2026
A flicker of hope for a few. Too little, too late for others.
The Supreme Court has ordered that individuals cleared by appellate tribunals for inclusion in the electoral rolls at least two days before the Assembly elections will be able to vote. The directive has drawn mixed reactions across affected groups and observers.
“I filed an online appeal against my exclusion from the electoral rolls a week ago. I’m yet to receive any communication from the tribunal about any hearing. I have an acknowledgement number and nothing else,” said a man whose name was removed from the revised rolls of the Chowringhee Assembly seat.
“If I can appear before the judge deciding my case, I am confident that my voting right will be restored. I hope I will get a chance,” he said.
Bengal will vote in two phases — on April 23 and April 29. According to the court’s direction, those cleared by tribunals on or before April 21 can cast their votes in Phase I, while those cleared on or before April 27 can vote in Phase II.
However, Sarfaraz Ahmed Khan, professor of law at the West Bengal National University of Juridical Sciences (NUJS), expressed doubts over how much the order would help.
“Everything depends on how the tribunals work. There is no clarity on that. No one knows if all 19 tribunals are fully functional. Speedy disposal depends on full functionality. Even if the judges dispose of 100 cases in a day, only 9,500 cases will be dealt with before the first phase and fewer than 20,000 before the second phase,” said Khan.
More than 27 lakh names were deleted after adjudication.
Khan said the court could have expanded the scope of relief.
“People enlisted on the 2002 rolls or those holding passports should have been allowed to vote even if their names were removed after adjudication. This would also have reduced the burden on the tribunals,” he said.
Sources in the Election Commission said a section of judges has been working from the Syama Prasad Mookerjee National Institute of Water and Sanitation (SPM-NIWAS) in Joka, the site of the tribunals, since April 12.
Nandita Roy, an IIM Calcutta teacher whose name has been deleted from the rolls, filed an offline application but has not yet received the reference number on her mobile phone. “I am hoping against hope that my case would be decided in time,” said Roy, who votes in the Rashbehari constituency.
Many others who learned of their exclusion late are fearful that their appeals may not be taken up in time.
Melisha Khatun, 39, an assistant professor of economics at Aliah University’s New Town campus, has also lost her voting rights. She was a voter in Khandaghosh in East Burdwan.
“The supplementary list that showed my name was deleted came out on April 7. I filed an online appeal on April 12. Lakhs of appeals must have been filed before that. If the cases are taken up according to the time of filing, I don’t think my case would come up in time,” said Khatun.