Bengal's Voter Exclusion Quagmire The Supreme Court's recent intervention in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) tribunals' slow pace has shed light on a critical issue threatening to disenfranchise thousands of voters in West Bengal.
Nearly 34 lakh appeals against deletion of names from electoral rolls during SIR revisions have been stuck for far too long, with the Court's reluctance to set a deadline for decision sparking controversy.
The situation is not new; Special Intensive Revisions have been conducted periodically since 2015, but the tribunals established to address appeals have been ineffective in speeding up the process.