West Bengal SIR Update: The Chief Minister of West Bengal, Mamata Banerjee, has approached the Supreme Court of India against the ongoing electoral revision exercise by the Election Commission of India, filing a personal writ petition on Sunday.
The development came only a few weeks before the final voter list is set to be published on February 14, marking a significant escalation in the standoff between Bengal CM and the poll body, ahead of the Bengal assembly election.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the Election Commission of India's ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. Titled Mamata Banerjee v. Election Commission of India, the plea names the Election Commission and West Bengal's Chief Electoral Officer as respondents.
Banerjee personally filed the petition after reaching Delhi on Sunday afternoon. In her plea, she has accused the Election Commission of exhibiting political bias, adopting an authoritarian style, and breaching provisions of the Representation of the People Act, along with associated rules and guidelines.
SIR A 'Backdoor' To Implement NRC: Mamata
Mamata Benerjee has described the SIR as a 'backdoor' attempt to implement something like the National Register of Citizens (NRC) by removing genuine voters like women who changed their surnames after marriage, the disabled, senior citizens and those coming from marginalised communities.
Banerjee has claimed the process has caused immense hardship, harassment, and even over 140 deaths linked to stress, anxiety, suicides, and related health issues in her several letters written to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar.
The key point of standoff between the two parties is the appointment of 81,00 micro observers, who she calls 'illegally appointed' and unauthorised under electoral laws.
In her petition, Banerjee contends that certain figures—likely referring to Special Rolls Observers or other deployed officials—are manipulating voter data, sidelining statutory Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and their assistants, who have been reduced to mere 'helpless spectators.' She further alleges that the Election Commission is applying inconsistent and selective rules to West Bengal, treating it differently from other states undergoing similar exercises.
The Chief Minister has also highlighted alleged errors stemming from AI-assisted digitisation of legacy electoral rolls, the issuance of informal instructions through WhatsApp channels, and hearings conducted in a mechanical manner devoid of human consideration or empathy.
This Supreme Court challenge adds to the prior interventions by the apex court in connected matters, including petitions from Trinamool Congress leaders such as Derek O'Brien. In those cases, the court had mandated steps like publicly displaying lists of 'logical discrepancies' impacting roughly 1.5 crore voters, alongside simplified procedures for submitting documents to minimise hardship and stress for citizens.