EC’s post-SIR re-enrolment drive will not include West Bengal cases pending before appellate tribunals

According to an affidavit submitted by the EC in the Supreme Court, 22.21 lakh appeals are pending before the tribunals in West Bengal. File | Photo Credit: PTI

The Election Commission’s (EC) special “door-to-door” drive to re-enrol any voter left behind during the SIR process through Form 6 will not be applicable to the more than 20 lakh voters in West Bengal whose cases are pending before the appellate tribunals. This could create two parallel re-enrolment routes, one through the tribunals and one through Form 6 applications to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and as the EC has directed Form 6 applicants to be cleared within one or two months, the tribunal appellants could wait several years.

A senior EC official told The Hindu that while Booth Level Officers (BLOs) would re-check if any voters are left out among the ASDD (Absent/Shifted/Dead/Duplicate) list which was issued after the Enumeration Phase, those whose cases are in the tribunals “is different as it is already under adjudication”.

According to an affidavit submitted by the EC in the Supreme Court, 22.21 lakh appeals are pending before the tribunals in West Bengal.