SIR row: Supreme Court to hear Mamata Banerjee’s plea today; BJP steps up attack

The Supreme Court will on Monday hear a plea filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee challenging the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the poll-bound state, which is due to go to elections later this year. The plea questions the legality of the exercise, flags the risk of large-scale voter deletions, and alleges political bias by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

According to the cause list, a Bench led by Justice Surya Kant will take up the matter on February 9, along with similar petitions filed by Trinamool Congress MPs Dola Sen and Derek O’Brien. The hearing follows an earlier order in which the top court issued notice to the ECI and sought its response to the concerns raised by the West Bengal government.

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Amid the legal challenge, senior BJP leader Dilip Ghosh on Monday questioned Banerjee’s decision to approach the apex court, calling it “dramatic” and legally unsound.

Speaking to news agency IANS, Ghosh said Banerjee’s repeated recourse to the Supreme Court reflected weakness rather than confidence. “If Mamata Banerjee has so much faith in herself that she will win the case, then she should go. But what is the need to do drama like this? The more the government goes to the Supreme Court, the more it loses,” he said.

What the Supreme Court will examine in the SIR challenge

In her petition, Banerjee has alleged that the manner in which the SIR is being conducted could lead to the deletion of names of lakhs of voters, particularly from marginalised communities. She has accused the ECI of acting with political bias and sought interim directions restraining the poll body from removing any voter’s name during the revision process, especially those flagged under the “logical discrepancy” category.

During an earlier hearing, the court observed that spelling variations arising from local dialects are a pan-India issue and cannot be used as grounds to exclude genuine voters. It also indicated that it would look for a practical solution to ensure that no legitimate voter is disenfranchised.

Why the Bengal government says voters are being affected

Addressing the court, the Chief Minister argued that women who change their surnames after marriage and individuals who shift residences are being disproportionately impacted by the revision exercise. She also alleged selective targeting of West Bengal, claiming that similar intensive voter revision drives were not being carried out in northeastern states such as Assam.

Banerjee further told the court that repeated representations made to the ECI on these issues had not elicited any response, reinforcing her allegation of arbitrariness in the process.

State, ECI take positions ahead of today’s hearing

Ahead of Monday’s hearing, the West Bengal government informed the ECI that it could deploy 8,505 Group-B officers to support the remaining phase of the SIR exercise. The state also insisted that Bengali-speaking officers be appointed to minimise errors linked to language and spelling.

The ECI, meanwhile, clarified that permanent resident certificates issued by elected public representatives or Block Development Officers would not be accepted as valid identity documents for the purpose of SIR. It said only certificates issued by District Magistrates, Additional District Magistrates, Sub-Divisional Officers and, in Kolkata, Collectors, under legal provisions notified in 1999, would be considered valid.

The ruling Trinamool Congress has objected to this clarification, with Banerjee accusing the poll body of deliberately rejecting valid documents to facilitate the deletion of genuine voters’ names from the electoral rolls.