Why is the role of SIR tribunals in West Bengal under scrutiny | Explained

The Story So Far: The protests raging across the country demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over Special Intensive Revision (SIR) has brought the focus on the experiment of revision of voter lists in West Bengal, which saw the deletion of nearly 91 lakh voters from the electoral rolls. Four months after the West Bengal assembly elections, the fate of about 37 lakh electors still hangs before the SIR tribunals.

In an affidavit, the Election Commission informed the Supreme Court on September 18 that the number of appeals pending before the 19 SIR tribunals is 37,18,452. The affidavit states that 38,20,683 appeals were submitted regarding both inclusions and exclusions of voters from the West Bengal electoral roll during the SIR exercise. The EC said only 1,02,231 appeals have been disposed of so far.

A break up of the backlog of nearly 37 lakh cases includes over 22 lakh voters, who have filed appeals challenging their deletion after names were struck off electoral rolls. Names of 27 lakh electors were removed from electoral rolls after being put into a category of ‘logical discrepancies’. There are another 16 lakh appeals against inclusion of voters in West Bengal not only without the knowledge of the electors but also two Election Commissioners.

How are SIR tribunals functioning ?

The SIR tribunals are functioning at a tardy pace and six months after these were set up in March 2026, weeks before the assembly polls in the State. Out of 38 lakh applications, only one lakh has been disposed of, which brings the disposal rate to about 3% in six months. These 19 tribunals were set up on March 20 by a notification by EC, comprising retired judges of the Calcutta High Court.

Former Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, T. S. Sivagnanam resigned from the SIR tribunal in the first week of May citing personal reasons. Ranajit Kumar Bag, another retired judge, stepped down from the tribunal on personal reasons. Last month, Justice (Retd.) Indrajit Chatterjee, who is presiding over the appellate tribunal in Murshidabad district, wrote to the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge, expressing his wish to discontinue with effect from November 2, 2026. He cited the long commute from his residence in Salt Lake to Joka, where the tribunals are functioning as a reason for his communication to the Chief Justice of the High Court.