The Supreme Court is set to hear a plea filed by West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday, 4 February, in connection with Special Intensive Revision (SIR). Challenging the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in the state.
Mamata Banerjee, who has an LLB degree, had filed her petition on January 28 where she made the EC and the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer parties in the case.
Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi will jointly preside over the hearings today. As per PTI report, the Chief Minister is likely to attend the court proceedings today. TMC sources confirmed that she may put forth her submissions before the judiciary.
This hearing comes almost 5 days after the apex court passed a slew of directions, observing that the SIR process in West Bengal should not cause inconvenience. On January 19, the top court observed that the SIR process should be transparent.
To ensure transparency, the top court directed the Election Commission (EC) to display the names of those on the “logical discrepancies” list at gram panchayat bhavans and block offices. This allows candidates to submit documents and objections at these dedicated spots amid logical discrepancies in lineage linking with the 2002 voter list.
Mamata Banerjee calls SIR ‘arbitrary and flawed’
Previously, the West Bengal CM raised concerns over the “arbitrary and flawed” SIR in the poll-bound state and had written to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) to address the issue.
According to Mamata Banerjee, continuation of the SIR in the present form could trigger “mass disenfranchisement” and “strike at the foundations of democracy”. In a letter dated 3 January, addressed to CEC Gyanesh Kumar, the 71-year-old TMC leader accused the poll panel of presiding over an “unplanned, ill-prepared and ad hoc” process as she pointed to “serious irregularities, procedural violations and administrative lapses”.
Mamata Banerjee released a book on 22 January, titled “SIR: 26 in 26,” amid the ongoing political and legal battle. This collection of 26 poems feature exigent titles such like ‘Panic’, ‘Doom’, ‘Mockery’, ‘Fight’, ‘Democracy’ and ‘Who Is To Blame,’ which was released at the 49th International Kolkata Book Fair as a form of protest against SIR practices.
In the introduction, Banerjee states, “We want answers. And answers will be given in people’s court” as she alleged that the Center unleashed a “relentless campaign of fear” on the people of Bengal. She dedicated the book to “those who have lost their lives in this ruinous game”.
