Political consultancy I-PAC conducted an online workshop with Trinamool workers on Saturday, training them on drafting appeals against the exclusion of names from the electoral rolls.

The appeal should not be framed as a mercy plea but should emphasise why the voter should have been on the rolls, a party worker who attended the session told Metro.

Party workers were asked to reach out to people struggling to file appeals and help them draft and submit them.

The online appeal has two key sections: “brief facts of the appeal” and “relief sought”. How these are worded is crucial, I-PAC employees told the workers.

“We were told to mention why removing the name from the electoral roll was wrong and why it is legally unsustainable,” said one Trinamool worker who attended the session.

“The appeal should include three elements without fail: it should state why the name was wrongly removed, provide supporting reasons for inclusion and cite any violations of natural justice. This could include cases where someone was deleted without a hearing or was never given a notice,” the worker said.

Tens of thousands of voters are filing appeals before the tribunals after being deleted from the rolls following adjudication. When the post-SIR roll was published on February 28, over 60.06 lakh people were under adjudication. Nine supplementary lists had been published by Saturday afternoon.

During a hearing on Wednesday, the Supreme Court said that the chief justice of Calcutta High Court had informed the apex court that all under-adjudication cases were likely to be decided by April 7. “The learned Chief Justice has informed us that the pending objections are likely to be adjudicated by 07.04.2026,” the court order stated.

Party workers said they were also given a template to draft the appeals, which could be used for language and structure. The online application can be filed via the EC’s website: https://voters.eci.gov.in/. On the homepage, an option on the extreme right reads “Submit appeal for individuals (under adjudication)”.

Written applications can be submitted to the district election officer (DEO), who is also the district magistrate, or the sub-divisional officer. Officials advised voters to obtain a receipt for all written submissions. In Calcutta, there are two DEOs: north Calcutta, located in Jessop Building in Dalhousie, and south Calcutta, in the Alipore Survey Building.

The online appeal format allows only 1,000 characters for the “brief facts of the appeal” and 500 characters for the “relief sought,” a voter who has filed a plea said.

There is no fixed format for offline submissions. A written communication from the additional chief electoral officer of Bengal to all DEOs stated that offline appeals can be filed on a sheet of paper mentioning the EPIC number of the deleted voter.

Metro has reported on the obstacles and confusion voters faced when submitting offline appeals, often being sent from room to room with no guidance. Some were even told that no option existed for a written appeal.