‘Bengal Is Targeted, We Aren’t Getting Justice’: Mamata Banerjee Argues In Supreme Court Against SIR

First sitting CM to personally argue before apex court challenges electoral roll revision as mass disenfranchisement

NEW DELHI, February 4, 2026 — In an unprecedented move, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee became the first sitting Chief Minister to personally argue a case before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in her state ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

Appearing before a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi, Banerjee made an impassioned plea alleging that the SIR process is “not for inclusion but for deletion,” particularly affecting women who changed surnames after marriage.

‘Justice Is Crying Behind The Door’

Speaking directly to the court, the Chief Minister expressed her frustration over what she described as delayed justice. “When justice is behind doors. We are not getting justice anywhere. So many times I have written, six letters to Election Commission including all the details but no reply,” Banerjee stated.

The trained lawyer, who wore a white dress with a black shawl, forcefully presented her case despite being represented by Senior Advocate Shyam Divan. She alleged that West Bengal was being unfairly singled out among opposition-ruled states for the electoral revision exercise.

Allegations of Targeted Disenfranchisement

Banerjee claimed that 58 lakh names had been deleted in the first phase, with micro observers allegedly appointed from BJP-ruled states to oversee the process. She questioned why similar revisions were not being conducted in other states, particularly Assam.

“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,” she told the court.

The Chief Minister also labeled the Election Commission as a “WhatsApp Commission,” alleging that instructions were being issued informally through messaging applications.

Key Legal Demands

In her petition filed on January 28, Banerjee has sought the following reliefs:

• Setting aside the ECI’s SIR notifications of June 24 and October 27, 2025
• Conducting the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections using the existing 2025 electoral rolls
• Halting voter deletions, particularly in the “Logical Discrepancy” category
• Directing the ECI to handle minor name mismatches and spelling variations automatically
• Accepting all valid identity documents, including Aadhaar cards

Senior Advocate Divan informed the court that over 1.36 crore persons are included in the logical discrepancy list, with only 11 days remaining before the publication of the final voter list. He argued that it would be impossible to complete hearings for all affected voters within this timeframe.

Court’s Response

While acknowledging the procedural difficulties, Chief Justice Kant noted that the State of West Bengal had already filed separate petitions represented by eminent lawyers including Kapil Sibal. The court directed the Election Commission to send name discrepancy notices carefully and to be sensitive to local dialect differences when dealing with Bengali names written in English.

The bench observed that minor spelling variations should not result in the exclusion of genuine voters and emphasized the need for a solution that ensures no innocent citizen is left out.

Context and Implications

The SIR process, which was conducted in Bihar last year before its assembly elections, was extended to other states including West Bengal, Kerala, and Tamil Nadu in October 2025. The revision has sparked multiple legal challenges, with the Supreme Court having reserved its decision on several related petitions on January 29.

Banerjee’s petition expresses concerns about immediate and irreversible mass disenfranchisement of eligible voters, which she argues would disrupt the level playing field for political parties in the upcoming elections.

The Supreme Court has issued notice in the petition and scheduled the next hearing for Monday, February 9, 2026.

As the hearing concluded, the Chief Minister urged the court: “Please protect the people’s rights. We are grateful.”