19,000 West Bengal voters may be barred from bypolls as tribunal appeals remain stuck
The Election Commission set up 19 Appellate Tribunals in March to hear voter disputes ahead of West Bengal bypolls. However, three retired judges — Justice T.S. Sivagnanam, Justice Ranjit Bag and Justice Indrajit Chatterjee — have stepped down, citing various operational concerns. With only 16 tribunals now functional, around 19,000 voters face potential exclusion from the elections as their appeals remain pending and unresolved.
The vacancies in these tribunals have created a backlog, preventing timely adjudication of voter eligibility challenges. The Election Commission has yet to fill the three vacant positions.
