Supreme Court to hear West Bengal voter appeals October 16

The Supreme Court will hear appeals on October 16 from West Bengal voters whose names were removed from electoral rolls, and is considering giving priority to cases seeking inclusion ahead of municipal elections expected in November. The court set the date on October 9 after petitioners asked for their appeals to be decided quickly. They said that, if the cases are not resolved in time, voters with pending appeals should be allowed to vote in the municipal polls. The court has not yet decided whether to grant that request. Chief Justice Surya Kant said the court was considering asking tribunals to take up inclusion appeals before appeals seeking the deletion of voters’ names. Justice Joymalya Bagchi referred to software problems, while the bench acknowledged difficulties facing the tribunals. The October 16 hearing is expected to address the appeals and whether a solution can be found for voters still awaiting decisions. Counsel for the petitioners told the court that 93% of appeals decided by the tribunals so far had been allowed, and sought faster decisions on pending cases.