The Supreme Court of India takes center stage today with a crucial hearing on Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s petition against the contentious Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of West Bengal’s electoral rolls. Presided over by CJI DY Chandrachud and Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, the bench will also address similar challenges from TMC parliamentarians Dola Sen and Derek O’Brien.
At the heart of the dispute is Banerjee’s charge that the Election Commission is wielding the SIR as a political weapon, systematically targeting vulnerable groups. She highlights how ‘logical discrepancies’—minor errors in names or addresses—are being used to strike off lakhs of names, hitting women who change surnames after marriage and families relocating hardest.
Banerjee’s plea paints a picture of selective enforcement, pointing out that Assam and other northeastern states have dodged such revisions despite comparable issues. Despite multiple representations, the ECI has remained unresponsive, fueling claims of partisan motives ahead of Bengal’s assembly elections.
During the last hearing, the court flagged the impracticality of deleting voters over spelling differences common across India’s diverse linguistic landscape. Notices were dispatched to the ECI, with today’s listing promising deeper scrutiny and potential interim orders to pause deletions.
Stakes are sky-high for Trinamool Congress, viewing this as an existential threat to their voter base. Legal experts anticipate the bench crafting a balanced approach, safeguarding electoral rolls without compromising accuracy. The outcome could ripple through India’s federal poll machinery, reinforcing or reforming revision protocols.
As arguments unfold, all eyes remain on whether the top court prioritizes voter inclusion or stringent cleanup, a decision poised to influence Bengal’s democratic fabric.