Justice Surya Kant

ECI tells Supreme Court 37.18 lakh West Bengal appeals still pending

In a counter-affidavit on a petition by Congress leader Prasenjit Bose, ECI said 38,20,683 appeals had been filed before the tribunals, 1,02,231 (2.68%) disposed of and 37,18,452 pending. It did not split appeals by inclusion or exclusion. Between the draft and 7 August 2026, 34.13 lakh Form 6 were filed (14,079 accepted, 7.26 lakh rejected, 4.86 lakh unprocessed) and 6.39 lakh Form 7 (3,355 accepted, 14,506 rejected).

Filing date: IE says the affidavit was submitted Thursday (17 September 2026); LiveLaw and National Herald say 16 September. Case: Mostari Banu v. ECI, W.P.(C) 1089/2025, before CJI Surya Kant, Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana. Per LiveLaw, petitioners' RTI data suggested about 80% of appeals challenge inclusions; that is the petitioners' figure. The 7.26 lakh + 4.86 lakh + 14,079 accounting of Form 6 does not sum to 34.13 lakh in the report; the remainder is not explained. The affidavit itself was not opened.

• TIER 3 · PRESSMissing in Election Commission affidavit: Break-up of Bengal SIR appeals for inclusion, exclusion of namesThe Indian Express2026-09-18
• TIER 2 · RESEARCH/FILINGWest Bengal SIR | 37 Lakh Appeals Pending; Less Than 3% Disposed By Appellate Tribunals : ECI Tells Supreme CourtLiveLaw2026-09-18
• TIER 3 · PRESSBengal SIR: 97 pc of tribunal appeals still pending, ECI tells Supreme CourtNational Herald2026-09-21