The Trinamool Congress (TMC) approaches the Supreme Court, alleging mass deletion of eligible voters during West Bengal’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls. The party raises concerns over procedural flaws, digital mismanagement, and voter disenfranchisement.
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NEW DELHI: The Trinamool Congress (TMC) has approached the Supreme Court of India, challenging the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal, citing alleged procedural flaws, technological mismanagement, and mass deletion of eligible voters.
The petition, filed by TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien, challenges the legality, transparency, and procedural integrity of the ECI’s orders governing the SIR exercise. The 101-page plea accuses the poll body of acting outside the framework of law, violating statutory procedures, and engaging in arbitrary decision-making.
The move comes a day after West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced that she would approach the Supreme Court to challenge what she described as a “deeply flawed” electoral revision exercise.
“The Election Commission of India cannot act arbitrarily, capriciously or dehors the law, nor can it substitute legally prescribed procedures with ad-hoc or informal mechanisms,”
the petition states.
In its plea, the ruling party accused the Election Commission of India (ECI) of conducting the SIR in violation of statutory provisions and the Commission’s own Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs).
The TMC claims that a large number of eligible voters are being removed from the electoral rolls without receiving proper notices, verification, or an opportunity to be heard, undermining the democratic process.
Raising concerns over technological mismanagement, the TMC accused the ECI of using undisclosed software, algorithms, and digitisation processes to map and flag voters without transparency.
“The Election Commission of India has not even disclosed the list of 1.36 crore electors against whom it claims to have found logical discrepancies,”
the petition stated.
“At present, there is absolutely no clarity on what software has been used, how the digitisation process was conducted, or how it has allegedly fallen short. The ECI has behaved in a completely opaque manner, avoiding public scrutiny of its methods.”
The party highlighted what it described as “digital chaos” in the revision process, pointing to technological mismanagement, lack of planning, and insufficient training of ground-level officials.
“Booth Level Officers (BLOs) are acting on inconsistent and informal directions, often issued outside the prescribed legal framework,”
the TMC stated in its application.
A major grievance raised by the TMC pertains to the mode of communication adopted by the ECI. The party urged the Supreme Court to prevent the Commission from issuing directions to BLOs through WhatsApp or other informal platforms, claiming that such practices compromise transparency and create opportunities for arbitrariness in the electoral process.
“The ECI has, in effect, substituted its formal system of statutory communication with what is being informally described at the field level as a ‘WhatsApp Commission’,”
the petition alleged, adding that critical instructions, warnings, and consequences of non-compliance were conveyed exclusively through messaging platforms.
The TMC’s plea also draws attention to the hardships faced by senior citizens and other vulnerable groups. According to the party, elderly voters are being subjected to repeated verification checks, complex documentation, and multiple office visits, resulting in practical disenfranchisement.
The SIR, as currently conducted, allegedly fails to accommodate ground realities and disproportionately impacts those least equipped to navigate a technology-driven process.
The legal challenge follows earlier warnings from West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, who, in a January 3 letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, described the SIR as an “arbitrary and flawed” exercise.
Banerjee accused the ECI of presiding over an “unplanned, ill-prepared, and ad hoc” process marked by administrative lapses and procedural irregularities. She cautioned that without corrective measures, the revision could cause irreparable damage and large-scale voter disenfranchisement.
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has strongly rejected TMC’s claims. Leader of the Opposition in the West Bengal Assembly, Suvendu Adhikari, called the objections politically motivated and asserted that the SIR is a carefully planned national initiative to remove duplicate, bogus, and ineligible entries from electoral rolls.
Adhikari defended the use of digital communication channels, including WhatsApp, as supplementary to formal procedures, arguing that TMC efforts to intimidate officials and spread misinformation aim to derail the revision process.
Click Here to Read More Reports on West Bengal’s SIR