Kolkata: Former Chief Justice of Calcutta High Court, Justice TS Sivagnanam, resigned from the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) tribunal on Thursday, citing personal grounds. The tribunal, which handles election-related appeals, has a massive backlog of cases. Justice Sivagnanam cleared 1,777 appeals over 22 days, rejecting none, and stated that at its present pace, the tribunal would require four years to clear all pending appeals from Kolkata.
Resignation Submitted
Justice Sivagnanam submitted his resignation to Calcutta High Court Chief Justice Sujoy Paul and also to the Election Commission. He was initially appointed to hear appeals from petitioners in North 24 Parganas and Kolkata, but later also conducted hearings for cases from Malda, Murshidabad, and Birbhum, as referred by the Supreme Court.
Notable Cases Cleared
Md Mahatab Sheikh, a Congress candidate from Farakka, was the first to have his name cleared by the tribunal. Sheikh's voting rights were restored, and he subsequently won the seat to become an MLA. Justice Sivagnanam also heard the appeals of Suprabuddha Sen, grandson of eminent painter Nandalal Bose, and his wife Deepa Sen, restoring their voting rights. He also allowed 30 or more nuns from the Missionaries of Charity to vote, despite discrepancies in their certificates.
Justice Sivagnanam, who will fly back to Chennai on Friday, said: "I cleared 1,777 appeals between April 5 and 27. I approached the appeals with an open mind. I operated daily from 8.30am to 5pm to clear as many cases as I could, and even on Sundays, I cleared cases without any staff."
Challenges and Recommendations
Justice Sivagnanam noted that there are still 1 lakh pending appeals. He highlighted problems with the online appeals portal, including word-count restrictions for orders. To address this, he began giving orders in four to five lines. He said, "Judges are accustomed to giving long orders but the portal has word-count restrictions. I started giving orders in four to five lines to accommodate this."
He also pointed out that not all retired judges are tech-savvy, though he himself is accustomed to e-court proceedings. He praised the technical support from the state government for the 19 tribunals. Justice Sivagnanam recommended the addition of a special button in the system to send notices to applicants who have appealed.
