SC notice to ECI on Mamata’s plea against SIR, CM tells court process creating ‘fear’

New Delhi:The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued notice to the Election Commission of India (ECI) on a plea filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee challenging the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the poll-bound state and alleging large-scale disenfranchisement of genuine voters.

A bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, sought the poll body’s response and posted the matter for further hearing on Monday.

In her plea, Banerjee has sought urgent interim directions to restrain the ECI from deleting the name of any voter during the SIR exercise, particularly those placed under the “logical discrepancy” category, while the matter remains under judicial consideration.

Appearing for the West Bengal Chief Minister, senior advocate Shyam Divan contended that the revision exercise is being carried out in undue haste, with only 11 days remaining for the final publication of the electoral rolls, scheduled for February 14, while barely four days are left to complete hearings of objections.

Divan submitted that around 32 lakh voters are “unmapped” and over 1.36 crore voters have been placed in the logical discrepancy list.

The senior counsel alleged that nearly 70 lakh notices have been issued merely on account of minor spelling mismatches in names, a common occurrence when Bengali names are transliterated into English.

“Domicile certificates, Aadhaar, OBC certificates — none of these are being accepted. People are standing in queues for four to five hours, and yet reasons for flagging names are not being published,” Divan argued.

At this, the CJI-led Bench remarked that spelling variations due to local dialects are pan-India phenomena and cannot become a ground to exclude bona fide voters.

During the hearing, Banerjee sought and was granted permission to address the apex court.

“I can explain the problem. I belong to this state,” she said, claiming that repeated representations to the ECI had gone unanswered.

“I am from a common family. I am not important. But I am fighting for everyone,” Banerjee told the bench, alleging that the SIR process is creating discrimination and fear.

She claimed that women who change surnames after marriage and people who shift residences are being disproportionately affected.

CM Banerjee alleged that West Bengal is being selectively targeted ahead of elections, pointing out that similar exercises are not being conducted in northeast states like Assam. She further claimed that more than 100 Booth Level Officers (BLOs) have died or fallen ill due to stress caused by the process, and accused the ECI of acting in violation of earlier top court directions.

Responding to the submissions, the CJI-led Bench assured that the Supreme Court would find a “practical solution”, adding that no genuine voter’s right can be taken away.

“We will not shy away from our responsibility. We will ensure a solution,” the top court said, while clarifying that the broader challenge to the validity of the SIR process is being heard separately.

Appearing for the ECI, senior advocate Rakesh Dwivedi submitted that the poll body was compelled to appoint micro-observers due to the West Bengal government’s failure to provide an adequate number of Class-B officers to act as Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) despite repeated requests.

At this, the bench remarked that if the state government furnishes a list of officers who can be spared for SIR duties, the role of micro-observers could be reconsidered. The apex court also indicated that it would ask the ECI to examine complaints relating to name mismatches and refrain from issuing notices for minor spelling errors.

Ultimately, the apex court issued notice to the ECI on Banerjee’s plea and directed the poll body to file its response by Monday, the next date of hearing.

IANS