India, March 19 -- The revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal has sparked a controversy that had reached the Supreme Court of India, prompting the court to step in with an unusual remedy. Invoking its extraordinary powers, the court ordered the creation of special tribunals to hear appeals from voters whose names were excluded during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.

What is the SIR?

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) is a process carried out by the Election Commission of India to update and verify electoral rolls before elections. Electoral rolls - the official list of registered voters - must be periodically revised to ensure accuracy and prevent fraudulent voting.

During an SIR exerci...