New Delhi, April 20 (NationPress) The Supreme Court announced on Monday that it will request a report from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court regarding the operations of appellate tribunals established to address electoral roll disputes stemming from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process in the upcoming elections in West Bengal.

This matter was raised before a Bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi by senior advocate Devdatt Kamat.

Kamat pointed out that these appellate tribunals, which were formed following the Supreme Court’s previous directives, are reportedly not functioning as intended and are allegedly failing to adhere to the Court's mandates.

The advocate highlighted that these tribunals are only accepting applications submitted online and are not permitting legal representation, thus hindering individuals' ability to effectively appeal their cases.

“The appellate tribunals are inactive. They are only processing applications through computers and the Internet. Legal representation is not being permitted. The directives from this Court are not being honored,” Kamat expressed.

Noticing the concerns raised, CJI Kant remarked that there have been repeated references to similar issues and indicated that the Supreme Court will seek a response from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.

“There seems to be continuous mentions regarding this issue. We should obtain a report from the Chief Justice of the High Court today itself,” the CJI-led Bench stated.

This situation is particularly critical given the Supreme Court's earlier orders that mandated the establishment of an independent appellate mechanism to resolve disputes related to electoral roll inclusions and exclusions during the SIR initiative.

In March, the Supreme Court had directed the formation of appellate tribunals consisting of former High Court Chief Justices and judges, ensuring an unbiased platform for resolving electoral roll issues.

The Court granted the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court the authority to propose candidates for these tribunals, while the Election Commission of India (ECI) is responsible for issuing official notifications and managing the associated expenses.

Furthermore, earlier this month, the Supreme Court clarified that individuals excluded from the updated electoral rolls would only be eligible to vote if their appeals are approved by the appellate tribunals within the designated timeframes.

It was also noted that multiple tribunals have been established and are operating under a Standard Operating Procedure developed by a committee of former judges.