In a high-stakes showdown, the Supreme Court convenes today to hear West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee’s bold challenge to the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) drive. The three-judge panel, headed by CJI DY Chandrachud with Justices J B Pardiwala and Manoj Misra, will scrutinize claims of electoral manipulation amid rising political heat.
Banerjee’s petition pulls no punches, accusing the ECI of engineering voter deletions under the guise of SIR to favor rivals. She warns of mass disenfranchisement among marginalized sections, urging the court to block removals especially for those in the ‘logical discrepancy’ bracket—a category she deems arbitrary and discriminatory.
Key grievances include the SIR’s uneven application: Bengal faces intense scrutiny while states like Assam escape it. Impacts are stark on women altering surnames post-marriage and mobile populations, with local dialect-induced spelling mismatches triggering purges.
The court, in its previous order, served notice to the ECI and cautioned against overreach, noting India’s name variations aren’t grounds for exclusion. ‘No genuine voter’s right shall be snatched,’ affirmed the bench, scheduling today’s in-depth hearing.
Joined by TMC MPs Dola Sen and Derek O’Brien’s parallel petitions, this consolidated matter tests the ECI’s impartiality. Analysts predict interim stays if bias evidence mounts, potentially averting pre-poll chaos in Bengal.
Broader implications loom for national elections, as the ruling could mandate voter-friendly revisions. Mamata’s strategic court battle highlights deepening rifts, positioning the judiciary as the ultimate arbiter of fair play.