New Delhi [India], August 25 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday said persons excluded from the electoral rolls during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal exercise have a right to have their appeals decided within a reasonable time, and asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to submit details on the pendency and disposal of appeals before SIR tribunals in West Bengal.
A bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana was informed during the hearing that the SIR tribunals have so far disposed of around 85,000 appeals.
The Court pointed out that persons excluded from the voter list and who have contested their exclusion have a right to have their appeals decided within a reasonable time.
"We are on disenfranchised persons having a right of appeal and that right has to be realised in a reasonable time," Justice Bagchi said.
The Court has also directed the ECI to provide a break-up of the pending appeals based on whether they concern exclusion of voters or requests for inclusion.
"A very large chunk does appeal for exclusion. Then give you a date, give us the break-up of the nature of appeal, whether inclusion or exclusion. Then we will take a call whether to prioritise the inclusion or exclusion," the Court said.
The court also sought details of the number of appeals filed so far and the number still pending before the tribunals.
During the hearing, the ECI informed the court that it had already met the tribunal judges twice and was scheduled to meet them again, as the tribunals had made suggestions for expediting the disposal of appeals.
The Court suggested that the ECI, tribunal judges and the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, who is overseeing the SIR tribunal proceedings, should meet again to examine measures for expediting disposal.
The Court also raised the issue of the need for additional tribunals and asked the ECI to indicate how many more would be required to deal with the pending appeals.
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan referred to the Supreme Court's March 10, 2026 order directing the setting up of tribunals and said the direction was purely for expeditious disposal.
He submitted that the appeals filed against exclusion should be prioritised.
Senior Advocate D.S. Naidu, appearing for the ECI, submitted that the poll-body was already working with the tribunals to expedite the process.
The Court indicated that where there is a clear admission that an appeal deserves to be allowed, consequential steps could be taken for granting rights to persons who were earlier excluded.
"If there is clear admission of appeal being allowed, consequential steps we will take," Justice Bagchi said.
The court directed the ECI to disclose how many appeals are pending, how many have been disposed of and how many pending appeals relate to excluded voters and inclusion claims. It also asked the ECI to explain the number of additional tribunals required and the mechanism proposed for updating and streamlining the disposal of pending appeals.
The directions were passed on an application in the batch of pleas concerning the West Bengal SIR exercise.
Senior Advocates Kalyan Banerjee, Rauf Rahim, Gopal Sankaranarayanan and Menaka Guruswamy appeared for the petitioners. Senior Advocate DS Naidu represented the ECI.