Mamata likely to move SC over ‘harassment’ due to SIR in Bengal

West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday said she is likely to move the Supreme Court against the “harassment” faced by the people because of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in the state, as she sharpened her confrontation with the poll body ahead of the key assembly polls.

“We are taking legal help. So many people have died. People are being harassed. Tomorrow when the courts reopen, we will move legally against this. If necessary, I will seek permission to plead myself in the Supreme Court,” Banerjee said while addressing a government programme in South 24 Parganas district of West Bengal on Monday.

The chief minister, however, didn’t make it clear whether it is the state government or the Trinamool Congress (TMC) which would be moving the court against the SIR.

West Bengal governor CV Ananda Bose said the chief minister has every right to express her apprehensions over a democratic process.

Responding to Banerjee’s concerns, Bose said such issues must be addressed appropriately.

“The chief minister of any state has every right to express apprehensions on any process in a democracy. These apprehensions have to be addressed. I am sure the ECI, which is strong and balanced, will be able to find an answer to these in a satisfactory manner,” Bose told reporters.

On Saturday Banerjee wrote a four-page letter to chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar alleging that the SIR was flawed and many may lose their right to vote as a result.

“Ailing elderly people, nonagenarian citizens, pregnant women are being called for hearing. After being residents of this country, they now need to prove whether they are voters and citizens,” she said in her letter.

On December 31, 2025, a TMC delegation met Kumar at the EC’s office in New Delhi, sparking a war-of-words between the political party and the poll panel over the ongoing SIR of electoral rolls in West Bengal. Later Abhishek Banerjee, national general secretary of TMC, alleged before the media that Kumar lost his temper and addressed him inappropriately even as ECI said the TMC should ensure that their ground-level political representatives are not involved in threatening any staff on election duty.

“The EC is being run through WhatsApp and names of voters are being deleted using AI. We surely want to enroll our names in the electoral roll. SIR should be held over the period of two years. Why are you using force and trying to complete it within two months? More than 70 persons have died, including some who died by suicide. A few others are admitted in hospitals,” Mamata Banerjee said.

On December 16, the Election Commission published the draft electoral roll after the first phase of the SIR, with the electorate dropping from 76.6 million to 70.8 million following the deletion of over 5.8 million names.

The second phase, which began on December 27, involves hearings of 16.7 million electors under scrutiny, including 13.6 million flagged for logical discrepancies and 3.1 million whose records lack mapping.

The election to 294 member strong assembly is due in three months and TMC is seeking a straight fourth term.

Meanwhile, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Suvendu Adhikari also wrote to the CEC, countering Banerjee’s claims.

In his letter, he urged the poll body chief to continue the SIR of electoral rolls “undaunted, fortified by the unwavering support of the democratic masses”.Adhikari claimed that the CM’s call to halt the exercise is an “admission of defeat”.

“Her narrative of ‘anxiety and harassment’ is a TMC-orchestrated mirage, drowned out by the chorus of approval from those who reject her politics of patronage and prefer the purity of the ballot,” Adhikari wrote.

Adhikari further said that the SIR is being falsely portrayed as an “unplanned exercise” by the chief minister.

“The SIR is not, as she falsely portrays, an ‘unplanned, ill-prepared, and ad hoc’ farce, but a meticulously orchestrated national initiative aimed at purging the system of duplicate, bogus, and ineligible entries that have inflated voter lists and undermined the sanctity of our democracy,” Adhikari said.