New Delhi/Kolkata: West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has approached the Supreme Court challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being carried out by the Election Commission ahead of the April 2026 Assembly elections in the state. She has alleged that the exercise is being conducted in a hurried, partisan and procedurally flawed manner, raising serious concerns over voter exclusion.
Banerjee has accused the Election Commission of violating provisions of the Representation of the People Act and the rules framed under it. In her petition, she warned that the SIR process, in its present form, could lead to “mass disenfranchisement” and strike at the very foundations of democracy.
Earlier, in a letter dated January 3 to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, the West Bengal Chief Minister described the revision exercise as “unplanned, ill-prepared and ad hoc”, alleging serious irregularities, administrative lapses and procedural violations. She maintained that the manner in which the SIR is being implemented in the state has created confusion among voters and officials alike.
The Supreme Court is already hearing a related plea filed by Trinamool Congress MPs Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen, who have accused the poll panel of issuing informal instructions to electoral officers through platforms such as WhatsApp. On January 12, the apex court asked the Election Commission to respond to the allegations of arbitrariness and procedural irregularities in the ongoing SIR process in West Bengal.
A Bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi issued notice to the Election Commission after senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for the TMC MPs, argued that electoral officials were acting on directions circulated through social media and video conferences, without any formal written orders. Sibal also flagged the introduction of a “logical discrepancy” category of voters, under which individuals may be issued notices for quasi-judicial hearings on their eligibility due to alleged anomalies in voter details.
The court had directed the Election Commission to respond within a week, after initially declining the poll panel’s request for additional time to file its counter affidavit. Subsequently, on January 29, the Supreme Court asked the Election Commission to display the names of voters placed under the “logical discrepancy” category at gram panchayat offices and block offices, enabling affected individuals to submit documents and objections during the revision process.
The SIR exercise, after its completion in Bihar, is currently underway in nine states, including West Bengal, and three Union territories. The draft electoral roll for West Bengal was published on December 16, 2025, a move that, according to the petitioners, has worsened difficulties for eligible voters due to what they term arbitrary and irregular actions by the Election Commission.
The deadline for submission of claims and objections has been fixed as January 15, 2026, with the final electoral roll scheduled to be published on February 14. The petitioners have urged the Supreme Court to direct the Election Commission to extend the deadline, ensure that no eligible voter is excluded due to mapping errors, and publish the final roll only after all claims, objections and hearings are fully disposed of.
The Supreme Court has reserved its verdict on a batch of petitions challenging the SIR process, including one filed by the Association for Democratic Reforms, raising broader concerns over the conduct of electoral roll revisions across states.
