New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday, April 20, said it will seek a report from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court on the functioning of appellate tribunals set up to hear appeals against inclusions and exclusions in West Bengal’s electoral rolls following the Special Intensive Revision (SIR).
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi took note of the submission by senior advocate Devadatt Kamat that the tribunals were not functioning in compliance with the top court’s earlier orders.
Kamat told the bench that the appellate tribunals were not permitting lawyers to represent parties and were only accepting applications through the internet and computer-based modes, effectively denying representation to citizens from remote areas.
“Appellate tribunals are not functioning. Lawyers are not being allowed. They only take internet and computer-based applications. Citizens from thousands of kilometres are not allowed representation. This court’s order is not being followed,” Kamat submitted.
The CJI expressed displeasure at the repeated mentions in the matter.
Last week, the court had directed that people whose appeals against deletions from electoral rolls are allowed by the appellate tribunals within two days before polling must be permitted to vote. The first phase of polling in West Bengal is scheduled for April 23, and the second phase for April 29.
Kamat also placed before the court newspaper reports relating to the functioning of the appellate tribunals.”We will get a report from the Chief Justice today itself,” the CJI said.
This post was last modified on April 20, 2026 11:46 am