West Bengal SIR: Supreme Court Refuses To Fix Timeline For Appellate Tribunal, Seeks Data on Appeal Disposal

The Supreme Court on Tuesday said that it cannot prescribe a timeline for the Appellate Tribunals to decide appeals arising from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana heard a writ petition filed by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, seeking directions to streamline and expedite the disposal of cases by the SIR Appellate Tribunals.

While agreeing to examine logistical issues affecting the tribunals, the bench has said it could not prescribe a timeline for disposal of appeals. The matter has been tagged with a similar petition and will be heard on August 25.

Chowdhury has claimed that less than one per cent of appeals have been decided so far.

The Supreme Court had directed that Appellate Tribunals be constituted, headed by former High Court judges. The Calcutta High Court had recently observed that, at the current pace, it could take 21 years to clear the pending appeals, reportedly numbering around 34 lakh.

Last month, the Supreme Court had sought a response from the Election Commission of India, West Bengal government, and the Chief Electoral Officer of the State in a petition seeking time-bound disposal of appeals filed by person excluded from the voter list following the SIR process.

Senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan had told a CJI Surya Kant led bench today that since May 2026, at least three government orders have been passed by the State government whereby those excluded in the SIR, many of whom happen to be from the marginalised and economically weak sections, would not be considered eligible to receive welfare benefits.

The said petition before Supreme Court filed by Prasenjit Bose, says only 38,000 of the 34 lakh appeals have been heard so far by the tribunals. Court was further told the tribunals have allowed re-inclusion in the electoral roll in 70% of the appeals heard so far.

The petition highlighted the need for streamlining of the appeal process, disclosure of data and the publication of the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the sake of transparency and in larger public interest. “The fact that only 38,000 of 34 lakh appeals pending have been heard by the Appellate Tribunals makes it important for the apex court to give certain directions to make the appellate process more efficient,” Sankaranarayanan submitted

In May the Supreme Court had upheld the conduction of SIR and said SIR is not in conflict with the Representation of the People Act, 1950 and the Rules framed thereunder.

"The impugned SIR does not supplant the Representation of the People Act and the Rules. Rather, it breathes life into the constitutional mandate under Article 324 within the precise statutory contours provided by Section 21(3). Therefore, it cannot be said that the Commission has acted in excess of its statutory powers," the CJI had read in Court.

On the reasons given by the ECI to conduct the SIR, namely the passage of more than four decades since the last intensive revision, large-scale additions and deletions over the years, rapid urbanisation, migration and the resulting possibility of repetition and inaccuracies in the electoral rolls, the bench observed that these are clearly directed towards preserving that foundational integrity. Court had further held that the object sought to be achieved by the SIR bears a direct nexus to the constitutional goal of free and fair elections. "Free and fair elections do not rest merely upon the mechanics of polling. They fundamentally depend upon the integrity, accuracy and credibility of the electoral rolls, which form the foundation of the democratic process," the bench also comprising Justices Bagchi and Pancholi has held.

Case Title: Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury vs State of West Bengal

Bench: CJI Kant, Justice Bagchi and Justice Mohana

Hearing Date: August 12, 2026