West Bengal SIR tribunal dispute has halted the uploading of decisions in appeals linked to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
Thirteen appellate tribunal judges have refused to use the new Election Commission of India portal introduced on September 21, citing concerns over Aadhaar-based login and document restrictions.
The judges have said they will not share their individual Aadhaar numbers or other personal details required to access the new system.
According to a letter sent to the Election Commission, the issue has left the tribunals unable to upload their orders since September 21.
Why the West Bengal SIR tribunal dispute started
The 13 judges held a meeting in Kolkata on September 25. Following the meeting, they unanimously decided not to upload their decisions through the new portal unless their concerns were addressed.
Their first major objection is the requirement to use Aadhaar credentials for logging into the portal.
The judges have argued that making such personal information a condition for uploading judicial decisions interferes with the functioning of a quasi-judicial authority.
The dispute also concerns the way supporting documents have to be recorded on the new portal. The judges have objected to restrictions that limit the documents that can be selected while recording their decisions.
Dispute over the 13 prescribed documents
The Supreme Court had referred to 13 documents while directing the creation of appellate tribunals for SIR-related disputes in West Bengal. However, according to the judges, the list was described as indicative rather than exhaustive.
The earlier portal allowed judges to upload their orders in Word format and select whether an appeal was accepted or rejected.
Under the new system, judges have to identify which of the 13 prescribed documents were accepted, with a maximum of five documents allowed for selection.
A tribunal judge cited by the Times of India said that, in some cases, documents such as Class IV or Class V pass certificates verified by the West Bengal School Education Department had been accepted as supporting evidence.
The judge said the new portal does not provide the same scope for judicial discretion.
The judges have told the Election Commission that a restriction imposed through the portal cannot determine which evidence a quasi-judicial tribunal may consider.
They have argued that relevant and admissible documents should remain available for consideration while deciding an appeal.
Judges seek changes to the portal
The tribunal judges have also raised the issue of correcting clerical or apparent errors after an order has been uploaded. They have asked the Election Commission to provide a mechanism that would allow such mistakes to be corrected.
In their letter, the judges requested that the earlier version of the ECI portal be restored with modifications addressing their concerns. They sought action within three days of the letter being received.
The dispute is significant because the tribunals were created to handle appeals connected with the inclusion or exclusion of names from electoral rolls following the SIR process.
The Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal’s official website also lists appellate tribunal supplementary and deletion lists as part of its SIR 2026 information.
For now, the West Bengal SIR tribunal dispute has created a stand-off over how tribunal decisions should be uploaded and what information and documents the digital system should require.
The next step depends on whether the Election Commission makes changes to the portal or otherwise addresses the judges’ objections.
