Bengal SIR tribunals may take 12 years to decide on appeals
An Election Commission affidavit to the Supreme Court reveals that appellate tribunals in West Bengal, tasked with reviewing voters removed from electoral rolls, are processing cases so slowly that it could take over 12 years to decide all 3.7 million pending appeals. The commission has requested an increase in tribunals from 24 to 42 and permission for judicial officers to work from home to expedite the process.
Why it matters
This situation represents a significant administrative and democratic challenge, potentially disenfranchising millions of voters for over a decade. It raises serious concerns about the efficiency and capacity of India's electoral justice system and the timely protection of voting rights.
NEW DELHI: The innumerable voters in West Bengal who were removed from the electoral rolls after special intensive revision (SIR) may not be able to vote for more than a decade as appellate tribunals set up by Supreme Court could take more than 12 years to decide on their appeals for inclusion, going by the present pace of adjudication.An affidavit filed by Election Commission before Supreme Court says 1,26,194 applications have been decided by tribunals in the last five months since they started functioning in mid-April. So, on average, 25,238 cases are being decided by the tribunals in a month when even Saturdays and Sundays are included as working days. The total number of pending cases as of Sept 16, when the affidavit was filed, was 37,05,235.
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