KOLKATA: I, Abdul Tahid SK, the Appellant, am a bona fide citizen of India by birth… and I am fully eligible to be enrolled as a voter.”
With this assertion, Abdul Tahid Sheikh, a sexagenarian resident of Jadupur Pojadupur village, Berhampore in Murshidabad, more than 200 km away from Kolkata, began his online appeal to the Appellate Tribunal on April 11, seeking restoration of his name to the electoral roll.
He stated that his name had been duly recorded in earlier electoral rolls—including the 2002 list (SIR List SL No. 394) and the 1995 roll (SL No. 395). He cited his family’s electoral history: his father, Jamiruddin SK, and mother, Tenu Bibi, were both listed in the 1952 electoral rolls (SL Nos. 101 and 114 respectively), establishing, he argued, his lawful inclusion as a voter. He maintained that he continues to reside at the same address and has not incurred any disqualification under the law.
Yet, despite appearing for verification and submitting documents, his case was placed under the “Adjudication” category, and his name was subsequently deleted. In his appeal, he urged the Tribunal “to set aside the wrongful deletion” and ask authorities to restore his name.
As of Tuesday afternoon, no hearing date had been communicated to Sheikh. This silence comes with barely a day and a half remaining before the first phase of Assembly elections on April 23, covering 152 constituencies in West Bengal. The second phase is scheduled for April 29 across 142 constituencies.
The Supreme Court has set strict deadlines: only those cleared by tribunals by April 21 (for Phase 1) and April 27 (for Phase 2) will be eligible to vote. Their names must appear in the Election Commission’s lists on April 22 and April 28, respectively. For Sheikh and many others, the window is closing rapidly.
Following the SIR of rolls, around 91 lakh voters were removed from the final list. This includes over 63 lakh categorised as absent, shifted, dead, or duplicate (ASDD), and another 27 lakh whose names did not reappear in supplementary lists after adjudication.
Among these are Abdul Tahid Sheikh and others—Khalek, Jaria Bibi, Achhu Beoya, Bibhas Ghosh, Kajal Das Nandi, Biswajit Mondal, Sutapa Mondal—along with thousands more who remain uncertain whether their names will be restored before the first phase of polling.
Officials have stated that Appellate Tribunals are responsible for handling such appeals. “The Commission will release the list by Wednesday as soon as the Tribunals share the names of the appellants recognised as genuine voters so that they can vote in the first phase polls,” said an official at the Chief Electoral Officer’s office in Kolkata.
However, the process remains opaque. The Tribunal office has been restricted, with security personnel denying entry to appellants and even lawyers. There is no official data on how many appeals have been filed across the 19 tribunals or how many have been resolved. Nodal officers assigned to coordinate tribunal work have declined to comment.
Families of appellants describe growing anxiety and a lack of communication. “One week has passed since my father submitted an online form… requesting inclusion of his name in the list so that he can vote on April 23, but no response so far. We are in complete darkness,” said Jainal Abedin, son of Abdul Tahid Sheikh.
Similar concerns have emerged from the Beldanga constituency, including Rangamati-Chandpara, Majhira, Gobindapur, and Jadupur. “Hundreds of voters belonging to both communities… have lost their voting rights and many have appealed. But none has received any notice from the tribunal office till today,” said Manab Kodla, a clerical staff member of a state government-aided school.
With deadlines set by the Supreme Court and polling dates imminent, the absence of hearings, notifications, and transparency has left thousands of appellants uncertain about their voting rights. For Abdul Tahid Sheikh and many like him, the question remains unresolved: whether their names will be restored in time—or whether they will be excluded from the electoral process altogether.