The Supreme Court has ordered that persons cleared by appellate tribunals for inclusion in electoral rolls at least two days before polling will be entitled to vote in the upcoming West Bengal assembly elections.
Invoking its extraordinary powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, a bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and justice Joymalya Bagchi directed the Election Commission of India (ECI) to give effect to appellate orders by issuing supplementary revised electoral rolls ahead of polling dates.
The court noted that the state goes to polls in two phases -on April 23 and 29 -- and therefore, it is imperative that those declared eligible to vote by the appellate tribunals must exercise their adult franchise in the upcoming polls.
The order, released on Thursday following the last hearing on April 13, marks a calibrated shift from the court’s earlier stance that people whose appeals remained pending could not be permitted to vote, as that would disrupt the integrity of the electoral process.
Under the directions, appellate tribunals must decide appeals by April 21 for the first phase of polling on April 23, and by April 27 for the second phase scheduled on April 29.
The development assumes significance because electoral rolls for the first and second phases were frozen on April 6 and April 9, respectively, effectively disqualifying those whose claims were not adjudicated in time.
