Today, On 4th February, WB CM Mamata Banerjee told the Supreme Court in the SIR case that the Election Commission is a “WhatsApp Commission” targeting Bengal before the polls, urging the Court to save democracy as she alleged bias in voter list actions while the CJI suggested a way forward.
The Supreme Court reviewed petitions that contest the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls overseen by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in several states.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appeared before the Supreme Court to raise several concerns regarding the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.
Banerjee confidently addressed Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi, and Justice VM Pancholi, responding assertively to interjections from opposing counsel.
She asserted at the outset,
“I belong to that State,”
CJI Kant remarked,
“There should be no doubt, madam!”
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Expressing gratitude, Banerjee replied,
“I am very grateful because of your kindness. My humble regards to Justice Bagchi and Justice Pancholi ji also…”
As she commenced her remarks, the Chief Minister articulated,
“The problem is our lawyers always fought our case from the beginning, but when everything is finished, we are not getting justice. When justice is behind doors. We are not getting justice anywhere. So many times I have written, six letters to the Election Commission including all the details but no reply, sir. I am a bonded labour, sir. May be I pay for that. I am a very less important person; I pay for that. I am from a common family but I am not fighting for my party.”
CJI Kant interjected,
“Madam Banerjee.”
He stated,
“The State of West Bengal in its own right has filed a petition… the best of the legal team in Supreme Court is there to represent the case of the State,”
Despite this, the Court permitted Banerjee to continue her argument and recognized the procedural challenges faced in the State, emphasizing the need for solutions to ensure no innocent citizen is overlooked.
The Court added,
“Every problem has its solution. We must look toward the solution to ensure that no innocent citizen is left out,”
In response, Banerjee requested,
“If you allow me 5 minutes only.”
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CJI Kant comfortingly replied,
“We will give you not 5, we will give you 15 minutes.”
When the counsel for the Election Commission of India (ECI) interrupted, Banerjee and pleaded, “Please allow me, sir!”
After some back-and-forth between the Court and ECI counsel, Banerjee resumed highlighting the issues on the ground.
The Chief Minister stated,
“Their SIR process is only for deletion, not inclusion,”
She pointed out that married women were receiving notices due to residence changes or adoption of their husband’s surname. Banerjee alleged that the ECI had failed to follow the Supreme Court’s directives regarding the logical discrepancy list.
Banerjee added,
“Bengal people are so happy that this Court gave orders that Aadhaar card will be one of the proof documents, but they said ‘No’. In other states, the domicile certificate, the family register card, the government housing card are allowed; the health card is allowed… they only targeted Bengal on the eve of elections. What was the hurry? What typically takes two years is being done in three months, even during festivals and the harvesting season,”
She also noted the deaths of electoral officers during the SIR process, asserting,
“Because of the harassment, because Bengal is targeted. Why not Assam? Why not the northeastern States?”
When the ECI counsel objected, CJI Kant remarked,
“Madam has come all the way to speak.”
He added that the Court would refrain from commenting on specific issues, such as Aadhaar, since the decision on petitions contesting the SIR’s legal validity had been reserved.
The hearing continued with Banerjee interjecting at various points. At one moment, she labeled the “ECI as the WhatsApp Commission,” implying that instructions were being sent to electoral officials via the messaging app.
The Court promised to intervene and issue directives.
Banerjee said with folded hands as the hearing wrapped up,
“We are very grateful,”
Last year, the ECI conducted an SIR in Bihar ahead of the state assembly elections, leading to multiple petitions, including those from the Association for Democratic Reforms (ADR) and the National Federation for Indian Women (NFIW), challenging its legality. Nonetheless, the ECI proceeded with the SIR in Bihar since the Supreme Court did not impose any stay.
Following this, the ECI extended the SIR to other states and Union Territories, including West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu, on October 27, 2025, prompting additional petitions against this move. The court reserved its decision on these cases on January 29.
Banerjee then approached the court, contesting the ECI’s decision to execute a SIR in the state and requested that the polls utilize the electoral rolls prepared the previous year.
She also sought an urgent order to stop the deletion of voters, particularly those in the “Logical Discrepancy” category from the rolls. In her petition, Banerjee expressed concern over an immediate and irreversible threat of mass disenfranchisement of eligible voters in the upcoming state assembly elections, which she argued could disrupt the fairness of the electoral process.
Her plea states,
“The Petitioner reasonably apprehends that elections to the Legislative Assembly of West Bengal will be immediately declared thereafter as the term of Assembly comes to an end on or about 07.05.2026. This is the ultimate act of injustice as it will practically freeze the voters list for West Bengal, causing large-scale disenfranchisement and errors resulting from the opaque, hasty, unconstitutional, and illegal actions of the ECI, as described herein, without adequate time for grievance redressal,”
While challenging the entire SIR process, she also requested that name mismatches or spelling discrepancies in the ‘logical discrepancy’ category not be brought to hearing during this process and that all corrections be made proactively based on existing records.
Additionally, she insisted that all identification documents issued by competent authorities must be accepted.
She further alleged that despite the Supreme Court’s clear orders against it in petitions challenging the SIR, electoral officers continue to receive instructions via WhatsApp. Moreover, she asserted that the list of individuals classified under ‘logical discrepancy’ has not been made available online.
Banerjee has contended,
“The entire SIR exercise is an effort to disenfranchise existing voters in the Electoral Roll by compelling them to prove their citizenship with ‘documentary’ evidence, imposed against an arbitrary cut-off date of 2002. This violates the Constitution and the Representation of the People Acts of 1950 and 1951,”
Before the hearing on the SIR, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee filed an interlocutory application in the Supreme Court, requesting permission to appear and present her arguments personally.
Banerjee had previously submitted a petition under Article 32 challenging the SIR process. Among other requests, she is seeking guidance to ensure that the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections are held based on the current electoral rolls rather than those that will be revised following the SIR.
Additionally, she has requested urgent instructions to prevent the removal of voters from the electoral rolls.
Earlier in January, the court had issued directives to ensure transparency and fairness in the SIR process following concerns raised by multiple petitions about inconvenience and arbitrariness in voter verification.
Case Title: Dola Sen vs Election Commission of India and Anr, Mamata Banerjee vs Election Commission of India and Another with connected matters
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