Set up tribunals at academy in New Town, suggests SC
Times of India | 25 March 2026
Kolkata: The Supreme Court on Tuesday proposed setting up of appellate tribunals, which would hear appeals of people missing from the SIR supplementary list, at West Bengal Judicial Academy in New Town.
"This will save time and logistics required for retired judges of the appellate tribunals to travel to districts," said the two-judge bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, suggesting that the Election Commission of India (CJI) took this up with Chief Justice of Calcutta HC Sujoy Paul.
In the supplementary SIR list, it has been specified that "any person aggrieved by the inclusion of any entry may prefer an appeal within 15 days in online or offline mode before the Appellate Tribunal".
It was said that the academy, located on around five acres of land in Action Area III in New Town, had adequate infrastructure, which could be utilised to set up the tribunals. The mode could be virtual, SC suggested. The judicial academy was inaugurated on Dec 3, 2005, by then Chief Justice of India Justice YK Sabharwal.
This suggestion by SC comes at a time when ECI has notified formation of the appellate tribunals and a step-wise way on how to apply, but the tribunals are yet to start functioning. Shyam Dewan, representing CM Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday urged the SC to direct the Election Commission to start the appellate tribunals immediately.
Even though the tribunals were formed on March 20, it is likely take some more time to start functioning as the office has not yet been set up and staff members not assigned.
The ECI formed 19 appellate tribunals for Bengal to hear disputed appeals rejected by judicial officers who are disposing of 60 lakh under-adjudication cases, out of which 27 lakh have been adjudicated and the first supplementary list published. It will be headed by former CJ T S Sivagnanam and also include other retired high court judges, Pradipta Ray, Tapen Sen and Biswajit Basu.
Apart from hearing appeals of people whose names did not make it to the supplementary list published on March 23 midnight, the tribunals will also hear appeals on exclusion of voters. The single-member tribunals, led by former judges, have been formed for 23 districts, including North and South 24 Parganas, East Midnapore, Nadia, Malda & Kolkata.