Bengal SIR Shock: 37 Lakh Voter Appeals Pending, EC Seeks 42 Tribunals

More than 37 lakh appeals linked to changes in West Bengal’s electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) remain pending, prompting the Election Commission to propose expanding the number of appellate tribunals in the state from 19 to 42.

The figures were placed before the Supreme Court in an affidavit filed by the Election Commission. According to the poll panel, 38,20,683 appeals have been filed against decisions taken during the SIR process, while only about 1.02 lakh have been disposed of. This leaves 37,18,452 appeals pending before the tribunals.

In a more detailed submission reported on Sunday, the EC said over 22 lakh appeals were filed by voters whose names were excluded, seeking their inclusion in the electoral rolls. Another around 1.61 lakh appeals challenged the inclusion of names, seeking their removal from the rolls. The figures mean that appeals by excluded voters account for more than half of the total cases before the tribunals.

The Commission has said the existing tribunal strength is inadequate to handle the volume of cases within a reasonable timeframe. It has therefore proposed increasing the number of appellate tribunals to 42, matching West Bengal’s 42 Lok Sabha constituencies, so that the pending appeals can be processed more quickly.

The affidavit was filed in the Supreme Court in response to an application by Trinamool Congress Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien, who is among the petitioners challenging aspects of the SIR exercise.

The issue has assumed significance because the electoral roll revision involved the deletion of 27.16 lakh voters, of whom more than 22 lakh have subsequently filed appeals seeking reinstatement, according to the EC's submissions.

The scale of the backlog also raises a practical question: how quickly can voters get a final decision on their status? The EC's proposal to expand the tribunal network is aimed at addressing that administrative bottleneck, but the large number of pending cases means the appeals process remains a major issue in West Bengal's electoral-roll dispute.

The matter is before the Supreme Court, which has been examining challenges related to the SIR process and the handling of claims, objections and appeals concerning the electoral rolls.