The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday (March 10, 2026) directed the constitution of special tribunals to decide on appeals against exclusions from the electoral roll during the West Bengal Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.
A Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant ordered the formation of the tribunals after reasoning that the decisions of judicial officers deployed in the SIR exercise as Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) should not be subjected to appeal before any executive or administrative authority.
West Bengal SIR test: reading the Supreme Court’s order
The Supreme Court asked the Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court to request former Chief Justices and judges of High Courts to preside over the Benches of the appellate tribunals once they are notified by the Election Commission of India (ECI). The EC shall pay the retired judges an honorarium and cover the entire expenses of the tribunals.
The top court briefly recorded the contents of a communication received from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court that over 500 judicial officers from West Bengal and over 200 judicial officers from the neighbouring States of Odisha and Jharkhand were working “day and night, even on Sundays and holidays” to hear objections and claims from voters excluded from the electoral roll.
