The Election Commission of India (ECI) has informed the Supreme Court that it needs 42 election tribunals in West Bengal. This request comes in response to the over 3.7 million appeals related to voters who were removed from the electoral roll during the special intensive revision (SIR). The establishment of these tribunals is aimed at ensuring a faster resolution of these appeals.
To deal with this caseload, the ECI said that speedy disposal of these appeals requires more than the present strength of tribunals. It said, “With a view to further streamline and expedite the disposal of the pending appeals, it is proposed that the number of appellate tribunals in the state of West Bengal may be considered for increase to correspond with the number of Parliamentary constituencies in the state, so as to facilitate expeditious disposal of the pending appeals.”
The affidavit of the poll panel came in response to an application moved by Trinamool Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien who is one of the petitioners in the top court challenging the SIR exercise in West Bengal. The information provided by the ECI stated that of the 3.8 million appeals filed before the tribunals, the appeals against exclusion are over 57%. The affidavit further pointed out the tribunals also face 1.61 million appeals challenging inclusion of voters in the list.
