West Bengal’s Voter Appeal Backlog: 97.8% Cases Still Await Decisions

More than 97.83 per cent of over 38 lakh voter appeals in West Bengal remain unresolved as of 7 August 2026. The massive administrative backlog follows the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) 2026 exercise conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Economist and activist Prasenjit Bose submitted Right to Information (RTI) data, obtained by Dakshin Malda Congress MP Isha Khan Choudhury, to the Supreme Court on 24 August 2026. In his interlocutory application filed by advocate Neha Rathi, Bose, who is also the petitioner in the original case, warned the top court of impending "mass disenfranchisement" before the upcoming municipal elections in December 2026. Without immediate intervention, the credibility of the upcoming municipal elections remains in serious jeopardy, he said.

The ECI's SIR 2026 verification exercise resulted in the deletion of over 90.80 lakh electors. Officials deleted 27 lakh of those names after the initial adjudication phase. To manage the resulting legal fallout in the run-up to the WB polls in April, a Supreme Court bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi ordered the establishment of 19 Appellate Tribunals on 10 March 2026. These bodies, presided over by judicial officers, are now overwhelmed by applications.

Staggering District Backlogs

Tribunals have resolved only 82,782 cases out of 38,10,620 total appeals across the state. Of the cases decided, 75,443 resulted in inclusion and 7,339 in exclusion. This represents a 2.17 per cent resolution rate, leaving 37,27,838 applications pending.

The RTI data exposes severe district-level delays. Murshidabad faces the highest absolute volume of unresolved cases. The district has 7,46,818 pending appeals—meaning 99.93 per cent of the 7,47,305 submitted cases remain unresolved, with only 487 cases decided (434 included, 53 excluded). Malda follows closely with 529,678 pending appeals, translating to a 99.72 per cent failure rate out of 5,31,149 submitted requests, having managed to decide only 1,471 cases (all inclusion).

Purba Bardhaman holds the lowest processing rate in West Bengal. The district has 99.97 per cent of appeals pending, with officials deciding only 83 out of 277,242 applications. In North 24 Parganas, the system resolved only 277 out of 3,58,872 appeals, yielding a 0.077 per cent resolution rate.

A few districts demonstrated better administrative capacity. Purulia registered a 24.62 per cent processing rate (3,691 out of 14,990), and Bankura processed 23.05 per cent of its cases (4,414 out of 19,146). Hooghly emerged as the most active district in absolute numbers. It achieved a 21.78 per cent clearance rate by resolving 23,193 out of 106,464 submitted appeals.

Threat to Urban Elections

The administrative delays threaten urban centres preparing for the December 2026 municipal elections. The Department of Urban Development and Municipal Affairs has already initiated preparatory work, including a ward delimitation exercise to expand electoral boundaries. This overhaul will increase Kolkata from 144 to 209 wards and Howrah from 50 to 68 wards.

Despite the upcoming polls, Kolkata South has resolved only 1.93 per cent of cases, clearing 766 of 39,751 appeals. Kolkata North shows similar stagnation, resolving only 3.14 per cent, or 926 out of 29,503 applications.

The backlog is steeper in Howrah. The district tribunal has resolved only 1.85 per cent of cases, processing 3,049 of 164,909 appeals. This delay leaves 161,860 voters in legal limbo ahead of the December polls.

Choked by Official Objections

The tribunals are effectively paralysed by institutional objections. Over 20 lakh of the 38 lakh appeals were filed mechanically by the ECI itself. These official appeals challenge voter inclusions that judicial officers had already cleared during the prior adjudication phase.

Bose submitted his application to seek urgent Supreme Court intervention. He requested a strict time-bound schedule to conclude hearings before the municipal elections.

His application also demands logistical upgrades. Bose asked the court to mandate video conferencing for appellants, an online portal for publishing written orders and a directive that tribunals prioritise voter-led appeals over the ECI objections.