The Supreme Court, led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, told a bench on Friday that it will fast‑track appeals pending before 19 West Bengal appellate tribunals, where more than 38 lakh petitions have been lodged.NEUPARA The order follows a petition filed by advocates Prashant Bhushan and Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who argued that around 18,000 voters in Nandigram and Rejinagar have been denied the right to cast ballots because their appeals remain unresolved.NEUPARA The tribunals, which began functioning in March, have disposed of just 1.02 lakh appeals in six months, a figure that contrasts sharply with the 1.26 lakh cases decided, of which 93 percent were granted.NEUPARA Justice Joymalya Bagchi warned that software glitches in the ECINET portal have been a technical hurdle, and that “we need to thrash out some issues” before the backlog can be tackled.NEUPARA CJI Surya Kant said the court would give priority to inclusion petitions and would consider “appropriate intervention” to clear the backlog before the November local elections, when voter lists must be finalised.NEUPARA The Supreme Court will convene a special meeting of the tribunals next week to outline a timetable, and the Election Commission is expected to announce revised deadlines shortly thereafter.