EC Publishes Eighth Supplementary List, Disposes of 52 Lakh Cases in West Bengal

New Delhi: The Election Commission (EC) has released its eighth supplementary list, announcing that approximately 52 lakh pending adjudication cases in West Bengal have been resolved. 

The supplementary list contains the names of voters whose cases have been adjudicated by judicial officers in accordance with the Supreme Court's directives.

According to an EC official, a "supplementary list" refers to an additional list of voters' names that are included in the 'Under adjudication' category after the publication of the post-SIR rolls on February 28.

The EC also expressed optimism that the remaining process will be completed in the coming days, adhering to the directives of the Calcutta High Court.

As of Thursday evening, the verification and disposal of around 5.2 million cases under adjudication have been finalised. According to an EC official, work on the remaining nearly 8 lakh applicants is ongoing and expected to be wrapped up within the next four days.

Officials further stated their confidence that, should the current pace continue, the entire adjudication process will be concluded by April 7.

The commission had previously released the first supplementary list of 'Under Adjudication' voters on Monday, and earlier, in the final voters' list published on February 28, around 60 lakh names were marked as "under adjudication."

This comes a day after the Supreme Court on Thursday issued a blistering rebuke of the West Bengal government following a nine-hour gherao of judicial officers in Malda. Labelling West Bengal the nation's "most polarised" state, the top court condemned the incident as a "pre-planned, calculative, and motivated" strike intended to intimidate officials managing the electoral process. 

Notably, seven judicial officers, including three women, who were overseeing the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls were held hostage for several hours last evening in Malda. The gherao was carried out by protesters demonstrating against the removal of their names from the voter list.