Supreme Court seeks ECI’s response to TMC MP Derek O’Brien’s plea alleging procedural lapses in West Bengal SIR

The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) response to pleas filed by Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Derek O’Brien and others, alleging procedural irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls in West Bengal.

Hearing a batch of pleas, a bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Justice Surya Kant posted the matter for further hearing on Monday, January 19.

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During the hearing, senior advocates Kapil Sibal and Kalyan Banerjee—who is also a TMC MP—submitted that the poll panel is adopting “unusual procedures” while conducting the SIR exercise in West Bengal.

They further claimed that the authorities are acting “without any orders” in the poll-bound state during the SIR exercise.

Earlier this month, O’Brien had moved the apex court alleging serious procedural lapses in the SIR process. He contended that the ECI issued instructions to Booth Level Officers (BLOs) and other officials through “informal and extra-statutory channels” such as WhatsApp messages and oral directions, instead of formal written communications.

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“The ECI cannot act arbitrarily, capriciously or dehors the law, nor can it substitute legally prescribed procedures with ad hoc or informal mechanisms,” the plea stated.

The petition further alleged that the SIR exercise “has substantially aggravated the difficulties faced by eligible and bona fide electors, owing to a continuing series of arbitrary and procedurally irregular actions attributable principally to respondent no. 1 (ECI).”

The plea filed by the TMC MP has sought directions from the Supreme Court to the ECI to extend the deadline for the Claims and Objections phase.

It has also urged the apex court to direct the Commission to “forthwith stop issuing instructions for compliance by the BLOs and other officers involved in the SIR exercise through WhatsApp or other such informal channels,” and to declare all such instructions issued so far as illegal.

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