Pending SIR pleas
This new portal does not allow judges to go beyond the 13 specified documents and exercise their judicial discretion. It also urged ECI “to restore the previous model of the ECI portal as it was before Sept 21, 2026, with modifications to incorporate our point of view, within three days from the date of receipt of this letter. As a result of the stand-off, no adjudication has taken place since Sept 21.
“You may please note that since Sept 21, 2026, all tribunals have been unable to upload their orders… we are practically rendered functionless,” the letter to ECI said. The judges say that forcing them to enter their Aadhaar credentials to log into the portal constitutes direct “interference with the functioning of a quasi-judicial authority”. A judge said, “In many cases, a Class IV or V pass certificate verified by the Bengal school education department was accepted as a corroborating document. The letter said the portal should allow the judges to correct any clerical errors or apparent mistakes in their orders even after uploading them. “When Supreme Court directed the creation of independent Appellate Tribunals headed by judicial officers to handle SIR disputes, it established them as distinct quasi-judicial authorities,” said a source in the tribunal.
“Since these tribunals operate under the aegis of the judiciary, their rulings on voter inclusion or exclusion carry judicial weight. The administrative wing of ECI, including its central IT administration, cannot unilaterally alter or contest these findings through software overrides or administrative circulars. ”