Mamata Banerjee challenges West Bengal SIR process, moves Supreme Court

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has approached the Supreme Court by filing a writ petition against the Election Commission of India (ECI), challenging the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state.

The petition was submitted on January 28. Prior to this, Banerjee had written to the Chief Election Commissioner, alleging that the revision process was being conducted in violation of the Representation of the People Act and the relevant rules. Earlier, Trinamool Congress MP Derek O’Brien had also moved the Supreme Court, claiming that the ECI was issuing informal directions to Electoral Registration Officers.

In a recent order, the Supreme Court issued multiple directions to the Election Commission to ensure a fair and transparent verification of voters whose names appeared on the ‘logical discrepancy’ list following the release of the draft electoral roll. Last week, Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal orally informed the court that the ECI had failed to comply with these directions.
(With Live Law Inputs)