Mamata argues in Supreme Court, says Bengal voters being written off as dead

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that several living persons had been wrongly declared dead during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, warning that the exercise risked excluding innocent voters.

Seeking and receiving the court’s permission to address the bench, Banerjee said she wanted five minutes to explain the irregularities and difficulties faced by citizens during the revision process.

The Chief Minister alleged that the Election Commission was not accepting Aadhaar cards and was demanding additional documents from voters, creating hardship for ordinary citizens. “We are not getting justice anywhere. I have written several letters to the Election Commission,” Banerjee told the court.


Banerjee further alleged that West Bengal was being singled out, questioning why the same yardstick was not being applied in other states such as Assam.

Responding to her submissions, the Chief Justice said every problem has a solution, and emphasised that the court must ensure no innocent person is left out of the electoral process.

The Supreme Court is hearing a batch of petitions challenging the SIR exercise in West Bengal. The matter remains under consideration.

The top court issued formal notices to the Election Commission and the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal on Banerjee’s plea and listed the matter for further hearing on February 9.

Earlier in the day, she was present in the Supreme Court on Wednesday as the top court heard petitions challenging the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state, with the Chief Justice flagging concerns raised after inputs from judges familiar with local administrative practices.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi is hearing the matter. Banerjee is expected to make submissions in the case.

At the outset, the Chief Justice said the court had benefited from inputs from two judges from West Bengal, who explained the manner in which pass certificates are issued, and that this understanding had informed the court’s decision to include the issue for consideration.

Senior advocate Shyam Divan, appearing for the petitioners, told the court that it had earlier directed the Election Commission to display lists of voters flagged for “logical discrepancies”. Urging the bench to consider a brief note filed by the petitioners, Divan said only four days remained for completion of the exercise, even as large volumes of cases were still pending.

Divan submitted that 32 lakh voters remain unmapped, while 1.36 crore names feature in the logical discrepancy list, with hearings pending in 63 lakh cases. He also flagged the deployment of 8,300 micro observers, arguing that the category was not contemplated under the Constitution.

Raising concerns over the verification process, Divan told the court that approved documents such as domicile certificates, Aadhaar cards and OBC certificates were being rejected, forcing voters to stand in queues for four to five hours.

The Chief Justice observed that the court had been informed that the discrepancy list was not the sole mode of communication, and that individual notices were also being issued to the persons concerned.

Responding for the Election Commission of India, senior advocate Dwivedi said that all notices contain reasons, and that individuals were permitted to engage authorised agents during the process.

Divan, in response, sought a direction to the Election Commission to withdraw all notices issued solely on the ground of name mismatches. The case is continued to be heard in the Supreme Court. (With inputs from ANI)