Supreme Court Seeks Data on West Bengal Voter Appeal Disposals

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, August 11, 2026, directed the Election Commission of India to provide detailed data on the disposal rate of appeals by tribunals handling cases of voters excluded from West Bengal's electoral rolls during a Special Intensive Revision. The bench, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, declined to set a fixed timeline for the tribunals but indicated it would examine logistical issues affecting their performance.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury, who sought to expedite the appellate process. Senior advocate Rauf Rahim, representing Chowdhury, argued that the slow pace of the tribunals was causing significant hardship, linking the exclusion from voter lists to the denial of essential welfare benefits like ration cards in West Bengal. He submitted that the tribunal process must be made time-bound.

The bench, which also included Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana, focused on the volume of cases being processed. Justice Bagchi emphasized that the court's primary concern was the "quantum of disposals," not the outcome of individual cases. He told the Election Commission's counsel, "You need to give us the...