Kolkata, Sept. 21 -- Appeals by voters seeking restoration of their names in West Bengal's electoral rolls could take more than 12 years to clear at the present rate of adjudication, with over 37 lakh cases still pending before the appellate tribunals, according to figures reportedly submitted by the Election Commission to the Supreme Court.
The tribunals have disposed of 1,26,194 applications since beginning work in mid-April, an average of around 25,238 cases a month. Against this pace, the 37,05,235 appeals pending as of September 16 would require about 146 months, or over 12 years, to dispose of even if the tribunals function seven days a week.
The EC has acknowledged that the existing tribunal infrastructure is inadequate for the scale of the backlog and has proposed increasing the number of appellate tribunals in Bengal from 24 to 42.
The proposal was made in an affidavit filed in response to a petition by Trinamool Congress MP Derek O'Brien.
The Commission has also suggested allowing judicial officers handling the appeals to conduct hearings and other proceedings from home, arguing that this could reduce time lost in travelling and facilitate quicker disposal.
In another affidavit, the EC said the tribunals had been constituted pursuant to Supreme Court directions and that their functioning was governed by a standard operating procedure prepared by a committee that included former Calcutta High Court judges.
The Commission said issues concerning the feasibility and implementation of measures relating to accessibility would be best considered by the concerned appellate tribunals.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.