New Delhi, March 10: The Supreme Court will hear a petition filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee and several leaders of the Trinamool Congress (TMC) today. The petition challenges the ongoing Special Intensive Review (SIR) of voter lists in the election-bound state.
According to the case list published on the Supreme Court’s website, the bench led by Chief Justice of India (CJI) D.Y. Chandrachud, along with Justices R. Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi, will hear the petitions filed by Banerjee and TMC MPs Dola Sen and Derek O’Brien.
In her petition, Chief Minister Banerjee accuses the Election Commission of India (ECI) of political bias. She argues that the SIR process, as currently conducted, risks removing the names of millions of marginalized voters from the electoral rolls.
She contends that this process disproportionately affects vulnerable groups and seeks directives to ensure that genuine voters are not excluded from the voter lists.
During a previous hearing, the Supreme Court intervened to resolve a deadlock between the West Bengal government and the Election Commission regarding the conduct of the review process. The court directed that judicial officials be involved in deciding objections and claims filed by voters.
In light of the situation, the bench led by Chief Justice Chandrachud instructed the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court to appoint serving and some retired judicial officers of the rank of Additional District Judge (ADJ) to assist in addressing claims and objections raised by voters during the review process.
The Supreme Court stated that officials from the Election Commission and the West Bengal government would assist judicial officers in completing this process.
The Supreme Court also permitted judicial officers from neighboring High Courts, including Jharkhand and Odisha, to be deployed in West Bengal to expedite the resolution of claims and objections arising from the ongoing SIR process.
This directive from the Supreme Court came after the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court informed the Supreme Court that nearly 8 million applications related to categories such as “logical discrepancies” and “unknown voters” require resolution. However, only about 250 judicial officers are available to handle such a large backlog of cases.
Exercising powers under Article 142 of the Constitution, the bench led by Chief Justice Chandrachud clarified that the election body could proceed with the publication of the final voter list, even if some cases remain pending. It also stated that voters whose names are included in subsequent supplementary lists will be considered part of the final voter list.
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My name is Himanshu Tiwari. I am an experienced content writer with several years of expertise in the field. Currently, I contribute to Daily Kiran, creating engaging and informative content across a variety of categories including TECHNOLOGY, health, travel, education, and automobiles. My goal is to deliver accurate, insightful, and captivating information through my words to help readers stay informed and empowered.
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