Supreme Court To Examine Challenge To Voter List Revision In West Bengal Today

The Supreme Court will hear on Wednesday a set of petitions challenging the legality of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, including a plea by Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee alleging political bias by the Election Commission Of India (ECI). The matter will be taken up by a Bench headed by Chief Justice Of India Surya Kant, along with justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Panchol.

In her Petition, Banerjee has warned that the exercise may lead to the exclusion of many genuine voters, particularly from disadvantaged communities, and has sought judicial protection of voting rights. Similar concerns have been raised in separate pleas filed by Trinomool Congress MPs Mahua Moitra, Dola Sen and Derek O’Brien, who have also challenged the revision process before the court.

The challenge follows Banerjee’s recent meeting with Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, after which she accused him of singling out West Bengal under BJP influence and allowing deletion of legitimate voters’ names as well as special monitoring only in the state. The ECI, however, has rejected these charges, saying the revision is being carried out strictly as per law and cautioning against any attempt to disrupt the process.