In an unprecedented move, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee personally argued her petition in the Supreme Court against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, making her the first sitting Chief Minister to personally appear before the Supreme Court to make submissions. According to The Tribune, she requested 15 minutes to present her arguments, with the CJI granting her 15 minutes to argue her case. Banerjee quoted Rabindranath Tagore to say, 'Our lawyers fight for justice from the beginning, but when we don't get justice, justice cries behind doors.' At the end of the proceedings, she told the bench 'Please protect the people's rights. We are grateful (to you)' and added 'We are not getting justice anywhere. I have written six letters to the ECI...'
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant, with justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, sought a response from the Election Commission of India (ECI) on whether notices issued on such minor discrepancies should be withdrawn. The court cautioned the poll body to act 'carefully' and fixed the matter for further hearing on February 9. The bench directed the West Bengal government to suggest a list of officers conversant with local dialects who could assist the ECI in resolving errors without excluding genuine voters. Reiterating that the court's primary concern was voter protection, the bench said, 'Every problem has a solution. No innocent citizen should be left out.' It asked the state to propose officers familiar with Bengali naming conventions and dialects to assist the ECI, cautioning against mechanically issuing notices.
Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for Banerjee, referred to the huge number of unmapped voters and said there was hardly any time left for the remedial measures as the process is to conclude on February 14. 1.36 crore persons have been issued notices after they were found to be in violation of logical discrepancies. 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. Divan argued that most discrepancies arose from minor spelling variations, pronunciation differences due to regional dialects, or routine life events such as women changing surnames after marriage. The bench acknowledged these concerns, noting that such discrepancies were common across the country and observed that genuine voters could not be excluded for dialect or pronunciation-related differences.
Banerjee alleged that the poll panel is not allowing Aadhaar and seeking other documents from the voters for electoral roll revision, claiming that many alive persons have been declared dead by the EC during the ongoing process. According to The Tribune, she complained that the poll panel was not allowing domicile certificates to be accepted during the exercise. Senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi, appearing for the poll panel, countered the charges and alleged that the state government has provided the services of only 80 grade-two officers like SDMs for overseeing the SIR process. He said only low-ranked government employees like Anganwadi workers have been provided by the West Bengal government for the process. Banerjee countered the EC's charges and said the state has provided whatever was sought by the poll panel. The CM highlighted that renowned poet Joy Goswami was reportedly characterized as 'unmapped' and urged the court to ensure that 'notable authors etc' are not targeted by ECI notices. She underlined the inconvenience caused to people due to ECI's notices over 'logical discrepancies' and alleged that married women were being put on notice for shifting to in-laws' house or using husbands' title.
Banerjee alleged that West Bengal is being targeted and asked why the same yardstick was not applied in Assam. She accused the poll panel of conducting the SIR exercise in 'hurried and partisan manner' and alleged that 'their SIR process is only for deletion, not for inclusion'. In a strongly worded letter dated January 3 to CEC Gyanesh Kumar, she accused the EC of presiding over an 'unplanned, ill-prepared and ad hoc' process marked by 'serious irregularities, procedural violations and administrative lapses'. Banerjee warned that continuation of the SIR in the present form could trigger 'mass disenfranchisement' and 'strike at the foundations of democracy'. She has also called for the impeachment of the chief election commissioner and sought support from other opposition parties. Banerjee objected to the deployment of micro-observers allegedly from BJP-ruled states, remarking that the poll panel had turned into a 'WhatsApp Commission', a comment that prompted the bench to assure that safeguards could be devised if necessary. She highlighted deaths of several electoral officers during the SIR process and contended that ECI had failed to comply with the Supreme Court directions on logical discrepancy.