Former Calcutta High Court Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam Resigns From SIR Appellate Tribunal

Former Calcutta High Court Chief Justice TS Sivagnanam has resigned from the SIR Appellate Tribunal, which had been hearing appeals by persons excluded from the electoral roll in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise, which took place before the recently concluded Assembly Elections.

Justice Sivagnanam was one among 19 judges who had been designated as Appellate Tribunals by the Election Commission of India pursuant to the Supreme Court's orders. According to reports, Justice Sivagnanam had quit from his position citing personal reasons.

While more than 90 lakh names had been excluded in the SIR process, 27 lakh people had challenged their exclusion from the electoral rolls.

One among the many who had challenged their exclusion was former Calcutta High Court judge Justice Sahidullah Munshi, and his family. However, after appeal, Justice Munshi and his family were reinstated to the electoral roll.

Pertinently, only 136 out of the lakhs of voters who appealed had been added to the electoral roll through the appellate process in time for the West Bengal Assembly Elections 2026.