Why is the role of SIR tribunals in West Bengal under scrutiny | Explained
How are SIR tribunals functioning ? Fresh re-enrolment drive of electors? Lakhs to lose right to vote in the civic polls?
The ongoing protests in India demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process have highlighted the challenges faced by the SIR tribunals in West Bengal. Following the 2026 assembly elections, nearly 91 lakh voters were deleted from the electoral rolls in the state.
As of September 18, the Election Commission informed the Supreme Court that there are 37,18,452 appeals pending before the 19 SIR tribunals, with only 1,02,231 appeals disposed of so far. Of the 38,20,683 appeals filed, 22 lakh voters have challenged their deletion, while 16 lakh appeals are against the inclusion of voters who were not informed about being added.
The SIR tribunals have been functioning since March 2026, but despite setting up 19 tribunals, only one lakh cases have been disposed of, resulting in a disposal rate of about 3% in six months. The slow pace of disposal has led to complaints from tribunal judges, who have also raised concerns about the ECINET portal and the location of the tribunals in Joka.
Former Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, T. S. Sivagnanam, and another retired judge, Ranajit Kumar Bag, have resigned from the tribunal citing personal reasons. The upcoming civic polls in West Bengal, including the Kolkata Municipal Corporation and Howrah Municipal Corporation elections, may further exacerbate the issue, as many voters whose names are still pending before the tribunals may miss their right to vote.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
