The Election Commission of India, which on Sunday announced polls in two phases in Bengal on April 23 and 29, did not give any clarity on the fate of over 60 lakh voters in the state in the “under adjudication” category.
Some 20 lakh voters under adjudication in Bengal could remain in limbo by April 9, the last date for the nomination of candidates for the second and final phase, if the process of judicial scrutiny continues in the existing pace, sources said.
Section 23(3) of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, prohibits any change to the electoral roll of a poll-bound place after the last date of nominations.
As things stand, under the Supreme Court orders, these people can only vote if their names are cleared by judicial officers. They are not been deleted from the electoral list so they can’t register afresh, but can’t vote until their names are cleared. In no other state or Union territory has such a limbo being created so far.
Faced with multiple queries on the plight of these voters in legal limbo, CEC Gyanesh Kumar left it to the “learned judges.”
“The adjudication process of nearly 17 lakh voters out of 60.06 lakh voters has been completed till date,” said an EC source in Calcutta.
He said that it was likely that a supplementary list comprising voters approved by the judicial officers could be published next week.
“But it remains uncertain whether the adjudication of all 60.06 lakh voters would be completed by April 9,” the source said.
Gyanesh, on his part, said on Sunday: “As per the orders of the Honourable Supreme Court, learned judges working under the directions of the Honourable High Court of Calcutta will be bringing out this supplementary list; and as and when the names from this supplementary list are released, they shall be included in addition to the
existing electors.”
So far, 705 judicial officers, including 100 each from Jharkhand and Odisha, have been engaged in the adjudication process in Bengal.
“As of now, over 1 lakh cases are being disposed of every day by the judicial officers. Starting tomorrow (Monday), the judicial officers would get about 22 days till April 9 to dispose of cases. If things progress at the existing pace, another 22 lakh cases could be adjudicated till that date taking the total number of disposed of cases to 39 lakh. In that case, the fate of more than 20 lakh voters will remain undecided,” said
an official.
A source said the speed of adjudication needed to increase urgently.
“New voters can be included in the rolls till the last date of nominations, which in Bengal is April 9. If the Supreme Court gives an additional window of 10-12 days and the pace of adjudication is increased, it is possible that all 60.06 lakh cases could be disposed of,” he said.
Ruling Trinamool leaders said that the state government’s lawyers would definitely draw the Supreme Court’s attention to the issue in the next hearing.
“We have heard that a large number of voters under adjudication are being rejected by the judicial officers,” said a Trinamool MLA.
According to Trinamool sources, nearly 40 per cent of the cases adjudicated so far had not been approved by judicial officers.
“If the court asks the Election Commission to publish a supplementary list after adjudicating 20 lakh voters, maybe 12 lakh voters would be included in the final rolls,” said a Trinamool insider. “If 40 lakh cases are adjudicated before April 9, maybe 24 lakh voters will be included. In that case, it would pose a major hurdle for us, as most cases under adjudication involve minority voters, who predominantly vote for us.”
A poll panel said that the supplementary lists would be published as and when the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court issues an order. “It is not possible for us to say how many supplementary lists will be published before April 9,” said a source.
In its order on February 24, the apex court directed supplements to the final list on a “continuous basis as soon as the pending exercise is completed in part or in full”.