Supreme Court Firm: No Obstacle to Bengal Voter List Revision
Supreme Court assures no hindrance to Bengal's Special Intensive Revision process amid Mamata Banerjee's challenge.
The Supreme Court on Monday delivered a strong message during the hearing on the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, stating that it would not allow any impediment to the process. The court was hearing the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) response to a petition filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee challenging the revision exercise.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Vipul M Pancholi is examining the legality and scope of the SIR process in the state. The hearing follows sharp allegations by the Chief Minister, who has accused the poll body of acting arbitrarily and risking the disenfranchisement of a large number of voters.
Mamata Banerjee claimed that over 1.36 crore voters had been placed on a “logical discrepancy list,” making them vulnerable to deletion due to alleged systemic errors. These, she argued, included misspellings of surnames, clerical inconsistencies, and address changes—particularly affecting women after marriage. She warned that such errors could lead to unconstitutional deletion of genuine voters.
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The Chief Minister also raised objections to the deployment of 8,300 micro-observers appointed by the Election Commission in West Bengal. She alleged that these officials were effectively acting as central government officers and were deleting voter names without proper authority, bypassing established legal safeguards.
The Election Commission, in its reply, defended the SIR exercise as a routine and legally mandated process aimed at ensuring accuracy and integrity in electoral rolls. The poll body maintained that sufficient checks and balances are in place and that no voter would be removed without due verification and opportunity for correction.
As the hearing continues, the Supreme Court’s observation that it will not allow disruption to the SIR process signals judicial backing for the continuation of the revision exercise. The matter remains under consideration, with the court expected to closely scrutinize both voter protection concerns and the Election Commission’s statutory powers.
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