Kolkata, March 27 – The Trinamool Congress wrote to Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Sujoy Paul on Friday, expressing concern over 11 party candidates whose cases have been referred for judicial adjudication, and whose status remains unclear.
In the letter, written by West Bengal Minister of State for Finance (Independent Charge) Chandrima Bhattacharya, the party provided a list of the 11 candidates and requested the Chief Justice to ensure that the judicial process in these cases is expedited.
The letter also urged the Chief Justice to intervene so that the Election Commission of India (ECI) clearly specifies the reasons for exclusion in its list of voters identified during the adjudication process.
The party further requested that supplementary lists be published on a daily basis. The first supplementary list was released earlier this week, while the second was expected to be announced on Friday.
However, at the time of filing this report, there was no indication from either the Commission or the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, on when the second supplementary list would be published.
It also remains unclear whether the second supplementary list will include names cleared up to Thursday night or also those processed by Friday evening.
By Thursday night, the judicial adjudication process had been completed for 36 lakh voters, which is around 60 per cent of the 60 lakh cases referred for adjudication, sources in the CEO’s office said.
To recall, the final voters’ list in West Bengal -- excluding the 60 lakh cases referred for judicial adjudication -- was published on February 28. It was decided that supplementary lists would be published in accordance with the progress of the adjudication process.
Voters whose names are found excludable by the judicial officers involved in the process will have the option to approach any of the 19 Appellate Tribunals constituted for the purpose.