SC seeks EC's response on pleas of TMC MPs alleging irregularities in SIR

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the Election Commission on fresh pleas of Trinamool Congress MPs alleging arbitrariness and procedural irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.

A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi took note of applications filed by lawmakers Derek O Brien and Dola Sen in their pending petitions challenging the procedural actions taken in the ongoing SIR in the state.

Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Derek O Brien, said the EC's instructions on the SIR are being issued through social media platforms like WhatsApp and made booth-level officers (BLOs) act without any formal orders and without any lawful authorisation.

The applicants were aggrieved with the poll body issuing critical instructions to field officers through WhatsApp or orally, and not through proper written notifications, circular or order.

The plea urged the apex court to issue a direction to the EC to extend the deadline for submitting claims and objections currently fixed as January 15, 2026, and also direct the poll body to forthwith stop issuing instructions for compliance by the BLOs and other officers in the SIR exercise through WhatsApp or other such informal channels and declare all such instructions issued so far as illegal.

It claimed 58,20,898 names were deleted from the electoral rolls in West Bengal, without any notice or personal hearing.