Supreme Court Sends Clear Message On West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee's SIR Petition, Extends Deadline By A Week

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday said it would not tolerate any obstruction in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in any state. According to a report by Live Law, the Supreme Court is hearing several cases related to the SIR in West Bengal, including a petition filed by Mamata Banerjee. In her petition, she challenged, among other issues, the categorization of voters in the 'logical discrepancy' list. The apex court has also extended the deadline to complete scrutiny or applications related to the SIR process in West Bengal and to finalise data by one week.

What was Mamata Banerjee's appeal?

The long-running conflict between Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and the Election Commission over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls escalated further last week when she herself appeared before the Supreme Court and appealed for intervention to protect democracy. Questioning the validity of the SIR process, the Chief Minister, in her petition, accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of acting with political bias.

What were Mamata Banerjee's allegations?

She alleged that the way the voter revision exercise is being conducted will lead to the removal of millions of voters from marginalized sections of society. She sought interim directions to restrain the election body from removing the names of any voters during the SIR exercise, especially those placed in the 'logical discrepancy' category. In the previous hearing, the Supreme Court had issued a notice to the ECI on CM Mamata's petition.

What did the Supreme Court say?

The bench headed by the Chief Justice of India had said that spelling differences due to local dialects occur throughout India and this cannot be the basis for excluding genuine voters. Addressing the Supreme Court, CM Banerjee claimed that this is disproportionately affecting women who change their surnames after marriage and people who change their residences.

Alleging that West Bengal is being deliberately targeted before the assembly elections, she said that similar voter revision exercises are not being conducted in northeastern states like Assam, and that repeated representations to the ECI have gone unanswered. Responding to these arguments, the bench headed by the Chief Justice of India assured that the Supreme Court would find a practical solution. They also stated that the right of any genuine voter cannot be taken away.