West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has filed a petition in the Supreme Court challenging the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, raising serious concerns about the process being followed by the Election Commission of India (ECI).
According to official sources, Banerjee filed the petition on January 28, naming the ECI and the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal as respondents. The matter is yet to be listed for hearing.
The top court is already seized of multiple petitions related to the SIR process in the state, which is seen as critical in the run-up to the upcoming Lok Sabha elections.
Banerjee had earlier taken up the matter directly with the Election Commission. In a strongly worded letter dated January 3 to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, she urged an immediate halt to the process, describing it as “arbitrary and flawed”.
She warned that continuing the SIR in its current form could result in “mass disenfranchisement” of voters and “strike at the foundations of democracy”.
Banerjee alleged that the revision drive was “unplanned, ill-prepared and ad hoc”, marred by “serious irregularities, procedural violations, and administrative lapses”.
The Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls is typically conducted to update voter lists by verifying entries, deleting ineligible names, and enrolling new voters. However, the West Bengal government has accused the Election Commission of bypassing standard procedures and implementing the revision without adequate safeguards or coordination with the state administration.
Banerjee’s petition is likely to add weight to the ongoing scrutiny of the SIR process already underway in the Supreme Court.
As of now, the Supreme Court has not announced a date for hearing Banerjee’s petition.
