West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee appeared before the Supreme Court of India on Wednesday as the apex court began hearing petitions challenging the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls being conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) in West Bengal.
Banerjee â joined by Trinamool Congress leaders and other petitioners â has sought to quash the ongoing SIR process, arguing that it could unfairly disenfranchise voters and cause significant hardship for ordinary citizens. She claimed the revision has erred in marking living voters as deceased and raised concerns about procedural fairness.
In a rare legal strategy, Banerjee has moved an application to seek permission from the Chief Justice of India Surya Kant to argue her case in person, potentially becoming the first sitting chief minister in India to do so if approved.
At the start of the hearing, Banerjee said she was not fighting for her party but for the larger democratic interest of West Bengal voters, urging the court to consider the ground realities faced by citizens due to how SIR notices have been issued.
The case is being heard by a bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi. Apart from Banerjeeâs petition, similar challenges to the SIR exercise have been filed by citizens and TMC MPs as part of a broader legal opposition to the voter list revision.