The Supreme Court on Monday directed former West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and other petitioners to file fresh pleas concerning allegations of electoral anomalies in the recently concluded state Assembly elections. The directive centers on claims that in multiple constituencies, the victory margins were smaller than the total number of votes deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
The legal challenge follows a highly contested Assembly election in West Bengal, which witnessed a record-breaking voter turnout of over 90 percent. In the 294-member state assembly, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) secured a majority with 207 seats, while the Trinamool Congress (TMC) won 80 seats.
During the proceedings, senior advocate and TMC Member of Parliament Kalyan Banerjee brought a crucial statistical allegation to the attention of the apex court bench. He submitted that in exactly 31 assembly seats, the victory margins were specifically lower than the number of votes that had been removed from the electoral lists during the SIR process.
The Election Commission strongly opposed these submissions in court. The poll panel argued that the legally appropriate remedy for challenging election results is through a formal election petition. Furthermore, the Commission stated that it can be held accountable for issues related to the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls and any consequential appeals regarding the addition or deletion of votes through the proper statutory channels.
The Supreme Court bench, comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, was hearing a broader batch of petitions—including the one filed by Mamata Banerjee—that are related to the SIR of electoral rolls in the state. Taking note of the specific submissions made regarding the 31 contested seats, the bench instructed the petitioners to file fresh, dedicated petitions to appropriately address the grievance regarding the victory margins and deleted votes.
