'Work from home' or he quits: Retd judge's fix for Bengal's stalled SIR appeals backlog

More than 37 lakh SIR appeals are still pending in Bengal, but the system set up to hear them is itself struggling for judges. Of the 19 appellate tribunals constituted in the state, one Murshidabad tribunal headed by Justice (Retd) Indrajit Chatterjee is dealing with 6,35,983 appeals from 11 Assembly constituencies. Chatterjee, who says he can dispose of about 10 cases a day, has offered to step down from November 2 unless he is allowed to work from home or from a venue closer to his Salt Lake residence. He tells WION the “main problem” is logistical overload, the lack of eligible retired judges, and says that for citizens waiting on rulings, "the process becomes a punishment."

In an exclusive conversation, Chatterjee said the logistical challenges is "the main factor" behind the delays. He has offered to resign effective November 2 unless he is allowed to hear appeals from home or a venue closer to it. He cites a daily commute of two to four hours from his Salt Lake residence to the hearing centre in Joka, about 27 km away.

Could others follow?

Asked how many of the 19 tribunal judges might leave, Chatterjee said his colleagues reacted to his resignation by saying “he did the right thing, the pressure is impractical” but could not predict their decisions. He added that his own exit may or may not inspire others to take a similar step who are overburdened. Another judge handling a district bordering Kolkata is also considering quitting over the commute, he mentioned.

His own request rests with the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court, Ravindra Vithalrao Ghuge, whose administrative panel decides how the tribunals function.

“Mostly genuine voters”

Murshidabad recorded the highest number of deletions under the "logical discrepancy" category, and opposition parties allege the exercise targeted a Muslim-majority district. Asked whether the voters he had heard from were genuine, Chatterjee said: "Mostly genuine voters."

His record supports that. He has decided 425 appeals, restoring 350 names (82.35 per cent) and upholding 75 deletions.

He hears appeals from 11 of the district's 22 constituencies, and another former High Court judge handles the rest. Most hearings are held virtually through block development offices.

"Zero" pressure

Asked whether he faced indirect pressure amid controversies around the Election Commission, Chatterjee was categorical. "Zero," he said, adding that he had "never" received a threat or been pushed to act in a particular way. He described the assignment as temporary. "I think my time is over," he said.

The numbers behind the exit

Chatterjee says he can decide roughly 10 appeals a day. Against a backlog of about 5.3 lakh in his tribunal, that works out to around 145 years if he worked every day of the year.

The problem extends well beyond his bench. The Election Commission told the Supreme Court that over 38 lakh appeals were filed before the 19 tribunals, with over 37 lakh pending and only about 1.02 lakh disposed of. More than 27 lakh voters were deleted after adjudication in Bengal's SIR exercise.

The tribunals began work on April 13 on the Supreme Court's direction. Former Chief Justice T.S. Sivagnanam stepped down in May and Justice Ranjit Bag in July, both citing personal reasons.

"The process becomes a punishment"

Chatterjee said slow justice hurts most when citizenship and welfare benefits are at stake. He compared the situation to an ordinary eviction suit, which he said takes a minimum of seven years at the trial level before appeals begin. "The process becomes a punishment," he said.

Staff, buses and logistics

The arrangement carries a heavy logistical cost, Chatterjee said. Several buses ferry staff to Joka from points such as Sealdah, Baruipur, Howrah and north Kolkata, while other staff travel by train. A work-from-home model, he said, would work only if adequate staff were available and willing to move with the judge.

Replacements are scarce

"It is difficult to find a replacement," Chatterjee said. He said there are "very few" eligible retired judges and noted that filling an earlier vacancy took about two months. Bringing in retired judges from other states runs into the problem of relocation, though remote work could offer a way around it. He said there is "no concrete protocol" for engaging retired judges.

The portal safeguard

Justice Chatterjee also cautioned against judges taking an "easy way out" to inflate disposal figures, and said 20,000 disposals in three months across the system deserve scrutiny.

Judges must now upload their orders and related details to a portal, which Chatterjee called a good development.

The way forward

The most immediate question is whether the Calcutta High Court's administrative panel, headed by the Chief Justice, will let Chatterjee hear appeals from home or a venue closer to it before his November 2 deadline.

Beyond one judge's request, the larger pressure is to add capacity.

Kushal Debnath, convener of the Sangrami Ganamancha, a collective working to restore the voting rights of struck-off voters, wants more tribunals and faster Supreme Court hearings, and says the Election Commission must be held accountable. The collective has planned protest rallies in Kolkata, Murshidabad, South Dinajpur and Nadia on November 23.

Chatterjee's own diagnosis points the same way: with very few eligible retired judges available and no concrete protocol for engaging them, remote working and a wider pool of judges from other states are among the few options he sees, provided adequate staff are available.

Time is also short. Municipal elections for Howrah and Kolkata are due in November, and with over 37 lakh appeals still pending across the 19 tribunals, many struck-off voters may still be waiting for a ruling when the polls arrive.