New Delhi: Supreme Court of India has refused to allow lakhs of people in West Bengal to vote after their names were removed from the voter list during a Special Intensive Review.
The court was informed that by April 11, around 34.35 lakh appeals had been filed by people whose names were either rejected or deleted from the electoral rolls.
Petitioners argued that these voters should not be left without any solution, especially when voting is scheduled for April 23. However, the Chief Justice said the court cannot create a situation that would put too much pressure on appellate tribunals already handling a large number of cases.
During the hearing, Kalyan Banerjee, representing the state government and the Trinamool Congress, said that at least 16 lakh appeals have been filed and those voters should be allowed to vote in the upcoming two-phase Assembly elections.
Responding to this, Chief Justice Surya Kant said that such permission is not possible at this stage.
The TMC also suggested that people whose appeals are accepted by April 22 should be allowed to vote. However, the court did not agree to this demand.
The court noted that it had received updates from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court. According to the update, thousands of objections and claims have already been resolved, while some cases are still pending due to technical reasons. A committee of three retired judges has been formed to streamline the process followed by tribunals.
The Supreme Court also directed the central government, the Election Commission of India, and the state government to ensure that judicial officers handling these cases continue to receive proper security.