Three West Bengal electoral tribunals lack heads amid appeals backlog

At least three of West Bengal's 19 tribunals handling electoral-roll disputes have no heads. India's Election Commission is awaiting nominees from the Calcutta High Court, The Hindu and PTI reported on October 11.

The court is to nominate retired judges, after which the state's chief electoral officer will notify their appointments. The tribunals report to the court, while the Election Commission supplies staff and a digital platform for remote hearings.

The bodies were established on March 21 following Supreme Court directions to handle disputes arising from the special revision of electoral rolls. Material cited in the report and submitted to the Supreme Court puts the total at 3.83 million appeals. Of these, 2.22 million challenge voters' removal and 1.61 million contest inclusions.

Around 102,000 cases have been resolved, fewer than 3% of the total. More than 3.7 million voters await decisions ahead of local and municipal elections. Petitioners told the Supreme Court that clearing the backlog at the current pace could take more than 12 years. That is their estimate, rather than a deadline set by the court.

The report of vacancies identifies a staffing problem alongside the accumulated appeals. No timetable for appointing new tribunal heads has been announced.