Relief for Millions in Bengal: SC Orders Special Tribunals for Excluded Voters, Mamata Halts Protest
Kolkata / New Delhi Desk, March 10, 2026 — West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has temporarily suspended her five-day sit-in protest, officially welcoming the Supreme Court’s critical intervention into the state’s highly contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The political standoff over the state’s voter lists saw a major breakthrough on Tuesday when a Supreme Court bench, led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, ordered the immediate establishment of independent appellate tribunals. These tribunals, which will be headed by former or sitting High Court judges, are tasked with hearing the appeals of citizens whose names were deleted or flagged under the “logical discrepancy” category by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
“A New Ray of Hope”
Hailing the top court’s directive, Banerjee stated that the Supreme Court has opened the “door for justice,” bringing a new ray of hope for millions of legitimate voters facing massive disenfranchisement.
The Trinamool Congress (TMC) supremo has been fiercely combating the ECI’s recent pre-poll revision, accusing the poll body of acting under the direct influence of the BJP. Banerjee previously claimed the SIR exercise was a calculated conspiracy that unjustly removed over 63 lakh voters from the state rolls. She also alleged that the severe panic surrounding the sudden loss of voting and citizenship rights had resulted in 190 stress-related deaths across the state.
BJP Criticises the State Government
While the TMC celebrated the judicial oversight, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) heavily criticized the Chief Minister’s handling of the situation and her decision to take to the streets.
BJP leaders slammed Banerjee’s five-day dharna in central Kolkata, stating that a sitting Chief Minister should be focusing on administration rather than staging protests. BJP National Information and Technology Dept head Amit Malviya pointed to the state’s staggering unemployment figures, asserting that Banerjee needs to deliver on her electoral promises rather than deflecting from “colossal misgovernance.”
Furthermore, the state BJP unit argued that the Supreme Court’s earlier decision to deploy external judicial officers from neighboring states to oversee the voter lists highlights a complete breakdown of trust and the severe politicization within the Bengal administration.
CJI Warns Against Doubting Judicial Officers
During Tuesday’s proceedings, CJI Surya Kant also issued a stern warning to petitioners attempting to question the integrity of the judicial officers already assigned to the SIR verification process.
Asserting that the top court will not tolerate attempts to undermine the judiciary’s role, the CJI made it clear that if a judicial officer prima facie finds an individual ineligible during the verification process, they will not be permitted to vote in the upcoming 2026 Assembly elections.
The Election Commission has been directed to issue a formal notification regarding the formation of the appellate tribunals in consultation with the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.
