Politics

EC Updates Bengal Tribunal Portal, Adds Digital Sign‑In for Judges

By Bharti Jain

The Election Commission has updated the appellate tribunal portal for Bengal, adding a 14th category of eligible documents – “any other document” – and allowing judges to upload orders in bulk, save drafts, and add additional documents. The changes were made about two weeks ago and enable judges to rely on documents beyond the 13 listed in SIR orders, which are described as ‘only indicative’. The portal also lets the electoral registration officer or the elector upload documents deemed appropriate by the judge. Earlier this month, the Commission accepted two more requests from SIR tribunal judges and has planned to replace Aadhaar‑authenticated e‑sign with a digital signature certificate as a mandatory login requirement. An EC officer said the DSC‑based access for tribunal judges is likely to be cleared before the end of the week, with the pen‑drive containing the digital signatures under process. The Commission has also instructed the Bengal CEO to work on the judges’ demand for relocation of their offices to a more convenient and central location.