West Bengal’s Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made history on Wednesday when she became the first Chief Minister in India to physically appear before the Supreme Court of India to challenge the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
Banerjee described the process as ‘unfair and detrimental’ and warned that it would cause ‘unprecedented hardship’ to millions of legitimate voters that could lead to their exclusion from the upcoming assembly elections.
Banerjee stated that although she waited over two hours in the Supreme Court to address the bench headed by Surya Kant, she was unable to do so because ‘justice is screaming inside closed doors’ and that her continued correspondence with the Election Commission had gone unanswered.
Mamata’s Reasons for Appearing in Court
Banerjee is trying to challenge the rules regarding the Election Commission of India and is requesting that the court order the use of the 2025 voter list for the upcoming elections because of her concerns that rushing this three-month process would ultimately lead to millions of people being ineligible to vote.
She inquired regarding why other poll-bound states were not using a similar process, accusing West Bengal of being singled out.
She accused the Commission of using 8,300 micro-observers to act in an unconstitutional and politically motivated manner, while stating that they are removing voters’ names from the rolls without proper authority.
‘Logical inconsistencies’ at the centre
One major issue raised was the removal of names for “logical discrepancies” which are defined as minor differences between a person’s surname, spelling or age.
Banerjee expressed that this error often happens when translating Bengali names into English. The court has held that different spellings can occur for surnames that sound alike, such as Datta and Dutta, or Bandopadhyay and Bandyopadhyay, and no removal should occur as a result.
In addition, she noted that the failure to count the addresses and surnames of married women and migrant workers may disproportionately affect them.
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Accusations and emotional pleas
The Chief Minister stated that the Commission is utilising WhatsApp notices rather than formal notification to citizens and is therefore a “WhatsApp Commission,” while adding that long waits for verification are being created by citizens being forced to go stand in long lines for this reason.
Mamata Banerjee noted the addition of pressure to the Booth Level Officers, alleging that over 100 had died due to work-related pressure during the voter verification process in the state.
“This is not about politics. I am fighting for the rights of the people,” she told the bench.
Senior advocate Shyam Divan, representing Banerjee, said there are over 63 lakh voters yet to be heard so completing hearings in a timely manner will be impossible. The Election Commission’s attorney, Rakesh Dwivedi, claimed the state was unable to supply adequate officers, forcing the use of micro-observers.
The court noted that Banerjee’s concerns are “genuine” and issued a notice to the Election Commission requesting a response by next week. The court advised officials to be sensitive to the situation, especially after sending notices to prominent citizens like Amartya Sen and Joy Goswami.
What’s going to happen next
The Supreme Court will hear this matter again on Monday. The outcome may provide guidance on the management of the voter verification process in West Bengal and may also lead to future electoral reform.
For now, Mamata Banerjee’s rare appearance in person demonstrates the seriousness of the situation and underscores the increasing tensions between the state and the Election Commission.
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