Kolkata, March 13 The first supplementary electoral rolls, following the EC's publication of the final voter list in the SIR exercise on February 28, are expected to be released before the end of next week, poll panel sources said on Friday.
The list will cover some of the nearly 60 lakh voters whose names had been marked as "under adjudication" in the final roll.
"While 15 lakh names marked ‘under adjudication’ on February 28 have already been processed, additional names in that category will be scrutinized over the next five days. The first supplementary list will be updated accordingly 24 hours before its publication, possibly by next Friday," the sources said.
The office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Kolkata, has reportedly developed a software to manage the process, and the app link has already been shared with the judicial officers concerned.
"We are following all directions as laid down by the judiciary – the guidelines set by the Supreme Court and under the monitoring of the Calcutta High Court. The supplementary list is being prepared in accordance with these directives," the sources added.
According to election authorities, a large number of applications were submitted during the voter list revision process. These included requests for new enrolment, correction of details, change of address, or objections regarding existing entries.
"A significant portion of these applications is still in the verification or hearing stage, which is why nearly 60 lakh names have been marked as 'under adjudication,'" he said.
"In line with the Supreme Court's directives, the EC is publishing the supplementary list of voters whose applications are yet to be resolved. This will allow voters to clearly know which entries are still awaiting verification or a final decision," he said.
EC sources explained that the electoral roll revision process usually involves several stages -- publication of the draft roll, submission of claims and objections, verification and hearings, and finally, the publication of the revised electoral roll. In many cases, verification at the local level or scrutiny of documents takes time, leaving certain applications pending.
Against this backdrop, the Supreme Court had directed that, to ensure transparency in the electoral roll process, the names of voters whose claims or objections are still under consideration should be published separately. The Election Commission is now preparing to release this supplementary list in compliance with that directive.
Officials said the move is expected to increase transparency in the voter list revision process and help voters track the status of their applications more easily.
Meanwhile the additional CEOs and deputy CEOs conducted a training programme for booth-level agents of all political parties for the assembly polls at the CEO's office here on Friday.