West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee reaches Supreme Court ahead of hearing on pleas against SIR of electoral rolls in State

CJI-led bench to hear petitions challenging the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal

West Bengal CM reaches SC ahead of hearing on pleas against SIR of electoral rolls in state

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday reached the Supreme Court ahead of a crucial hearing on the petitions challenging the Election Commission's ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the State.

The Chief Minister has also moved an interlocutory application seeking permission to appear and argue in person.

Banerjee is personally present in court room one along with her lawyers. A gate pass was issued in the chief minister's name on Tuesday.

As per the apex court website, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi is scheduled to hear the petitions of Banerjee and three others filed by Mostari Banu and TMC MPs Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen.

Supreme Court to hear Mamata Banerjee's plea against SIR today

According to the apex court website, a bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi is scheduled to hear the petitions, including those filed by Banerjee, Mostari Banu and All India Trinamool Congress MPs Derek O'Brien and Dola Sen.

On January 19, the top court passed a slew of directions, observing that the SIR process in West Bengal should be transparent and not cause inconvenience.

It directed the Election Commission (EC) to display the names of those on the "logical discrepancies" list at gram panchayat bhavans and block offices, where documents and objections will also be submitted.

Logical discrepancies in progeny linking with the 2002 voter list include instances of a mismatch in the parent's name and the age difference between a voter and their parent being less than 15 years or more than 50 years.

Noting that 1.25 crore voters in the State figure on the "logical discrepancies" list, the CJI-led bench had directed that offices for submitting documents and objections be set up within the panchayat bhavans or block offices and asked the West Bengal government to provide adequate manpower to the election authorities.

Banerjee filed her petition on January 28. She has made the EC and the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer parties in the case.

The Chief Minister had earlier written to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), urging him to halt the "arbitrary and flawed" SIR in the poll-bound State.

Sharpening her attack on the EC, Banerjee had warned that continuation of the SIR in the present form could trigger "mass disenfranchisement" and "strike at the foundations of democracy".

In a strongly worded letter, dated January 3, to CEC Gyanesh Kumar, she accused the poll panel of presiding over an "unplanned, ill-prepared and ad hoc" process marked by "serious irregularities, procedural violations and administrative lapses".

Earlier, O'Brien had filed an application alleging arbitrariness and procedural irregularities in the SIR of electoral rolls in the State.

The application claimed that since the inception of the SIR process in the State, the EC had issued instructions to officers at the ground level through "informal and extra-statutory channels", such as WhatsApp messages and oral directions conveyed during video conferences, instead of issuing formal written instructions.

O'Brien has filed the application in his pending petition, which has challenged the order and guidelines issued by the poll panel directing SIR in various States, including West Bengal.

The application said it was reported that in the course of SIR in West Bengal, the EC has created and deployed a new category described as "logical discrepancies" without any written order or guideline to "issue/decide to issue notices to 1.36 crore electors without any statutory basis".

It has also sought a direction to the poll panel to publish the final electoral rolls only after the disposal of all claims, objections and hearings.

(With PTI inputs)