Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court on February 4 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 February 16.
In her plea, Mamata had 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.
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.
