📷 Image: Wikimedia Commons / Chongkian
Politics
ECI to set up 42 election tribunals as 3.7 million SIR appeals pile up in West Bengal
✍️ Hindustan Times
🗓 20 Sep 2026, 01:16 PM
👁 9
The Election Commission of India has announced a plan to establish 42 election tribunals in West Bengal to address a backlog of approximately 3.7 million pending Service Information Request appeals.
The Election Commission of India (ECI) disclosed a proposal to create 42 dedicated election tribunals in West Bengal. The move aims to clear a massive backlog of Service Information Request (SIR) appeals that total around 3.7 million across the state.
According to the commission, the pending appeals have strained the existing grievance‑redressal mechanisms, prompting the need for a specialized judicial framework. Each tribunal will be staffed with legal and administrative experts to ensure swift adjudication of the cases.
The ECI expects the tribunals to become operational before the next state assembly elections, thereby strengthening the transparency and efficiency of the electoral process in the region.
Stakeholders, including political parties and civil‑society groups, have welcomed the initiative but have urged the commission to monitor the tribunals' functioning closely to prevent further delays.
The proposal is now under internal review, and the commission will issue detailed guidelines on the tribunals' jurisdiction, composition, and procedural rules in the coming weeks.
According to the commission, the pending appeals have strained the existing grievance‑redressal mechanisms, prompting the need for a specialized judicial framework. Each tribunal will be staffed with legal and administrative experts to ensure swift adjudication of the cases.
The ECI expects the tribunals to become operational before the next state assembly elections, thereby strengthening the transparency and efficiency of the electoral process in the region.
Stakeholders, including political parties and civil‑society groups, have welcomed the initiative but have urged the commission to monitor the tribunals' functioning closely to prevent further delays.
The proposal is now under internal review, and the commission will issue detailed guidelines on the tribunals' jurisdiction, composition, and procedural rules in the coming weeks.