The submission was made before a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipin Pancholi during the resumed hearing of pleas challenging the legality of the ongoing SIR in West Bengal.Also Read: West Bengal polls 2026: EC to deploy 3,000 more armed personnel
The counsel for the West Bengal government informed the bench that the rejection rate appears to be very high despite judicial safeguards. “…These were mapped individuals. Almost seven lakh have already filed and several lakh appeals are in the process of being filed. Appellate tribunals are yet to be fully operational,” the counsel told the bench. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, also appearing for West Bengal, said the appellate tribunals should pass interim orders for those prima facie found wrongly excluded.
However, the bench refused to do the same and declined to set any deadline for appellate tribunals to decide the appeals. Speaking for the bench, Justice Bagchi said the electoral list needs to be frozen now in view of the upcoming elections.
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The bench said the 19 appellate tribunals comprise former chief justices and judges and thus it would leave the decision to them. The bench directed that a committee be constituted for devising a procedure for the adjudication of appeals.
In a related development, the bench directed the NIA to take over the probe into the gherao of judicial officers in Malda district on April 1 by those protesting their deletion from the voter list.
The bench said there were serious allegations against the state police.
