Now Reading: 80% of Bengal election appeals challenge voter inclusion, SC told
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80% of Bengal election appeals challenge voter inclusion, SC told
The Supreme Court was told on Tuesday that nearly 80% of the 38 lakh appeals pending before West Bengal's SIR appellate tribunals challenge the inclusion of persons in electoral rolls, while only 7 lakh appeals are from voters excluded after the revision exercise. Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, citing an RTI reply obtained by MP Isha Khan Choudhary, said 31 lakh of 38.1 lakh appeals seek disenfranchisement. He argued that tribunals should prioritise the 7 lakh exclusion appeals, noting that over 90% of decided exclusion appeals have been allowed, restoring voters to the rolls.
LiveLaw reports that the bench expressed surprise at the data, with Justice Joymalya Bagchi noting a "very large chunk of appeals are for inclusions." The Times of India adds that the court was told 20 lakh of 27 lakh voters deleted for 'logical discrepancy' have not appealed. The Election Commission was directed to file an affidavit providing a breakup of appeals, disposal figures, and steps taken to update rolls. It was also asked whether additional tribunals are needed. The court will hear the matter next week.
Indian Opinion Analysis
Both sources report the same facts but frame them differently. LiveLaw foregrounds the RTI data and Sankaranarayanan's characterisation of the situation as 'appalling,' emphasising the tribunals' burden and the near-90% success rate of excluded voters' appeals. The Times of India leads instead with the 27 lakh deletions not appealed, framing the story around the new information to the court and the 'logical discrepancy' figure. LiveLaw also gives space to the Trinamool Congress member's allegation of targeted deletions in 31 constituencies, while the Times reports a similar claim of targeting a particular community. The unified picture is a court pushing the Election Commission for transparency ahead of the Kolkata and Howrah civic polls in December.
Coverage: 2 sources, 2 neutral
Sources (2): livelaw.in (neutral report), timesofindia.indiatimes.com (neutral report)
This brief was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above, so one read covers every framing they carry. Methodology and corrections.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
