Only around 2% of the 38 lakh appeals filed by voters excluded from West Bengal’s electoral rolls after the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) had been decided by August 7, according to an RTI response from the office of the Chief Electoral Officer.
The data showed that 37,27,838 appeals, or 97.83%, remained pending before appellate tribunals. Of the cases decided, 75,443 resulted in voters being added back to the electoral roll, while 7,339 resulted in exclusion. This means 91.13% of decided appeals ended with inclusion, reported Bar and Bench.
Supreme Court seeks details on pending appeals
The figures were disclosed in response to an RTI application filed by Congress MP Isha Khan Choudhury and were also brought before the Supreme Court on Tuesday.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana, directed the Election Commission of India to provide details of the pending appeals and the relief being sought in them.
In March, the Supreme Court had directed the setting up of 19 appellate tribunals to hear challenges against deletions following the SIR exercise.
Electoral roll shrank by over 1.15 crore
The RTI data also showed a substantial reduction in West Bengal’s electoral roll following the revision.
The state had 7,60,10,006 electors in the 2024 roll. By February 28, 2026, the final SIR roll had 6,44,52,609 electors — a decline of 1,15,57,397, or 15.21%.
Male electors fell by 15.03%, while female electors declined by 15.39%. The number of third-gender electors dropped by 35.14%, from 1,773 to 1,150.
Kolkata South, Malda see sharpest declines
The reduction varied significantly across districts. Kolkata South recorded the biggest proportional fall at 32.29%, followed by Maldah at 31.69%.
Kolkata North and Uttar Dinajpur also recorded declines of more than 25%. In absolute numbers, North 24-Parganas saw the largest reduction, with 14,44,123 fewer electors, followed by Murshidabad and South 24-Parganas.
The Supreme Court is also considering a plea seeking a category-wise breakup of pending appeals, including those filed by voters, ECI officials and other objectors.