Polity · 27 Aug 2026

West Bengal SIR appeals Article 324

Consider the following statements:

  1. Article 324 of the Constitution vests the Election Commission with the power of superintendence, direction and control over the preparation of electoral rolls.
  2. Of the total appeals filed before West Bengal's Special Intensive Revision tribunals, a majority were filed by voters seeking re-inclusion of their own names.
  3. Of the appeals decided so far by these tribunals, a majority resulted in restoration of names to the electoral rolls.
AOnly one
BOnly two
CAll three
DNone
This question is based on: A Tribunal Built to Treat Every Appeal the Same - Even the Ones That Restore a Right
Take this in full test mode → Instructions for 27 Aug 2026
About this question

Why in news

The Supreme Court directed the Election Commission to provide a detailed break-up of pending appeals before West Bengal's 19 SIR tribunals, with Justice Joymalya Bagchi suggesting exclusion appeals may need to be prioritised over inclusion appeals ahead of the state's municipal elections.

Why for UPSC

UPSC often tests whether a seemingly sweeping constitutional power (Article 324) is being exercised in practice as the data suggests - here, the counter-intuitive fact that most appeals sought further exclusions, not restorations, is exactly the kind of numeric nuance that separates careful readers from those who assume the "obvious" story.

Prelims summary

Article 324 gives the EC plenary control over electoral rolls, but of West Bengal's 38.10 lakh SIR appeals, most (31 lakh) sought further exclusions rather than re-inclusion; among appeals actually decided, 91% restored wrongly excluded voters - showing a high original error rate.

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