West Bengal Congress Moves Supreme Court Against Electoral Roll Revision, Seeks Relief in SIR Process

The West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee has approached the Supreme Court seeking relief in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being carried out in the state by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

The matter was mentioned today before a bench of Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi, with the counsel requesting that the plea be listed on Tuesday, in view of the fact that multiple petitions challenging SIR in other states are already scheduled to be heard tomorrow.

At the outset, Justice Surya Kant observed that the Bench is currently seized only of the Bihar SIR proceedings, adding that any decision on listing matters relating to West Bengal lies with Chief Justice of India BR Gavai.

However, on being informed that a petition concerning Tamil Nadu’s SIR has also been listed before the same Bench tomorrow, Justice Kant responded, “Alright, we will find out.”

Meanwhile, a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging the SIR exercise in West Bengal is already pending before the Calcutta High Court, where the petitioner has sought extension of the SIR timeline and court-monitored supervision of the process.

The High Court has recently directed the Election Commission to file an affidavit explaining the procedures being followed for the revision.

The development comes as the Supreme Court is scheduled to hear tomorrow two high-profile SIR challenges, one relating to Bihar, and another filed by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) against the SIR process in Tamil Nadu after urgent listing was allowed last week.

During earlier hearings in the Bihar matter in August, the Supreme Court was informed about a statement made by the Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal declaring the State’s readiness for SIR without consultation with the West Bengal government.

At that stage, the court had declined to intervene, noting that no active process was underway.

When told about reports that three women allegedly attempted self-immolation before the Calcutta High Court, fearing deletion of their names from the voter list, Justice Kant remarked, “It is very difficult for us to examine individual claims. We will consider the broad principles applicable to all states, subject to local conditions.”

West Bengal is scheduled to go to the Assembly polls in 2026.

The matter is likely to be taken up for further scheduling on Tuesday.