Former Calcutta HC judge’s name struck off Bengal voter list

Former Calcutta High Court judge Sahidullah Munshi said on Thursday that his name had been removed from the electoral rolls following the adjudication process carried out during the special intensive revision in West Bengal.

Munshi, who currently serves as chairperson of the West Bengal Board of Auqaf, reportedly said that while his own name had been deleted, the names of his wife and elder son were still under adjudication, and his younger son had applied afresh as a voter.

He described the situation as humiliating and distressing, alleging that although documents had been collected from him with assurances that they would be uploaded, no receipt had been provided, Scroll.in reported.

He indicated that he was preparing to file an appeal before an appellate tribunal and expressed surprise over the deletion, stating that he had submitted all the required documents.

He also suggested that the process lacked transparency, as he and his family were not informed if additional documentation was needed, adding that any one of the listed documents should have sufficed.

At the same time, Munshi reportedly said he did not wish to directly blame anyone, suggesting that the process may have been rushed and that his documents might not have been examined thoroughly. He noted that he had submitted his passport as proof and was awaiting an official explanation before proceeding with an appeal.

West Bengal is among the states where the Election Commission of India undertook the special intensive revision of electoral rolls. Data released on February 28 indicated that over 61 lakh names had been excluded from the final rolls, while around 60 lakh cases remained under adjudication following objections to the draft rolls published earlier.

Subsequently, after directions from the Supreme Court of India, judicial officers of the rank of district judge or additional district judge were appointed to assist in completing the process amid a dispute between the Trinamool Congress government and the Election Commission.

On Monday, a first supplementary list incorporating decisions on some of these cases was released, with about 29 lakh of the pending cases adjudicated. However, the poll panel has not specified how many names were ultimately added back or removed from the rolls.