Supreme Court gives clean chit to deleted Bengal voters to vote if cleared by Tribunals

The apex court has ruled that those whose appeals against the deletion of names are decided by the Tribunal will be allowed to cast their votes in the Bengal elections.

 Taking into account more than 34 lakh pending appeals, the Supreme Court has set clear timelines so that no eligible voter is deprived of their right to vote.

Mamata Banerjee has welcomed the Supreme Court’s decision. She said, “I was asking everyone to remain patient. Today the Supreme Court has issued the order. The Appellate Tribunal will decide on the applications of those who have filed appeals by the 21st, and the supplementary voter list will be published on 23 April before the first phase of voting”.

“ The same process will be followed for the second phase of voting on the 29th. I urge all concerned parties to ensure that the voter list is sent by that very night. I am happy and proud of the judiciary. The decision is based on my petition. I am proud of the Supreme Court”,She said.

The Supreme Court has used Article 142 of the Constitution to protect the voting rights of citizens in view of the SIR dispute during the West Bengal elections. Due to more than 34 lakh pending appeals related to objections against the removal of names from the voter list, the Supreme Court has set clear timelines to ensure that no eligible voter is deprived of their democratic rights.

The Supreme Court has directed the Election Commission to issue supplementary voter lists for such people. Where the Appellate Tribunal decides on people’s appeals by 21 April, the Election Commission will issue a supplementary voter list containing their names. All those whose names appear in this voter list will be eligible to vote in the first phase on 23 April.Similarly, a supplementary voter list will be issued for names decided by 27 April, and they will be eligible to vote in the second phase on 29 April.

However, the Supreme Court has clarified in its order that merely filing an appeal against removal from the voter list does not entitle a person to vote. The bench stated in the judgment: “However, it is needless to say that merely because the appeal of persons deleted from the list is pending before the Appellate Tribunal, they will not get the right to vote.”

This means the order will not apply just by filing an appeal in the Tribunal. Only those appellants who receive a clean chit from the Tribunal on their appeal will become eligible to vote.

The Supreme Court said that if an appeal receives a clean chit from the Tribunal, the order will be effective in West Bengal, treating the concerned voter as eligible. The court observed that voting is not only a constitutional right but also an emotional right. This decision is an attempt to maintain transparency in the election process.