The Supreme Court intervened decisively in West Bengal’s voter registration controversy, serving a notice to the Election Commission following Mamata Banerjee’s urgent plea against the Special Intensive Revision (SIR). During Wednesday’s hearing, CJI Sanjiv Khanna’s bench, including Justices Jyamalaiya Bagchi and V.M. Pancholi, committed to a pragmatic fix.
In a rare move, Banerjee personally addressed the court, portraying herself as a champion for the common people. She decried the SIR’s fallout—name deletions for minor errors, document rejections, endless lines, BLO suicides, and over 100 fatalities. ‘Discrimination is being sown through this process,’ she charged, spotlighting post-marriage surname issues.
Shyam Divan amplified her points, revealing 8,300 dubious micro-observers and 70 lakh notices over spelling slips, despite scant time left for finalization. He called for scrapping notices lacking justification and accepting standard IDs.
Election Commission advocate Rakesh Dwivedi shifted blame to the state, citing insufficient officer deployments despite multiple appeals, justifying extra observers.
Responding firmly, the court mandated careful handling of notices and voter protections. CJI Khanna clarified limits on Aadhaar comments but vowed to probe name errors. Hearing adjourned to Monday, with ECI response due.
This episode reflects deeper electoral preparedness challenges, where stringent cleaning risks alienating voters. The judiciary’s role could redefine SIR guidelines, ensuring fairness in Bengal’s polls.