CM Mamata Banerjee Moves Supreme Court, Seeks West Bengal Polls On Old Voter Rolls

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has approached the Supreme Court of India by filing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) against the Election Commission of India over its decision to conduct a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.

In her plea, Banerjee has sought directions that the upcoming West Bengal Assembly polls be held on the basis of the existing electoral rolls prepared last year, instead of the ongoing SIR exercise. She has raised concerns that the revision process poses an “immediate and irreversible threat of mass disenfranchisement of eligible voters”. The petition notes that the term of the West Bengal Assembly is set to end on or around May 7, 2026, leaving little time for voters to seek corrections if large-scale errors occur.

Fear of disenfranchisement ahead of polls

Banerjee has argued that freezing the voters’ list after a hurried SIR would amount to a serious injustice, as errors and omissions caused by what she terms “opaque, hasty, unconstitutional and illegal actions” of the ECI would go uncorrected due to time constraints. The plea warns that this could impact the fairness of the election process itself.

Filed through advocate Kunal Mimani, the petition claims that the SIR could lead to the disenfranchisement of lakhs of voters and disturb the level playing field among political parties. According to Banerjee, the revision exercise effectively forces existing voters to re-prove their citizenship using documentary evidence tied to an arbitrary cut-off date of 2002, which she says violates the Constitution and the Representation of the People Acts of 1950 and 1951.

‘Hasty, opaque process hurting ordinary voters’

The Chief Minister has also pointed out that the entire SIR is being carried out in less than 90 days, just months before the scheduled elections. She has flagged multiple practical issues, saying the process will disproportionately affect poor migrant workers who travel outside the state for seasonal employment and may miss hearings or document verification deadlines,Bar & Bench reports.

The plea alleges that voters are being subjected to arbitrary rejection of documents, illogical hearings, inconsistent instructions and unclear rules. It further claims that the ECI has deployed untested algorithms and software, creating confusion and chaos on the ground. Banerjee has sought directions that voters should not be called for hearings in cases of spelling mistakes or minor name mismatches classified as ‘logical discrepancies’, and that such corrections should be made automatically using available records. She has also asked the court to direct authorities to accept all documents issued by competent authorities as valid identity proof.

Allegations of defiance of court directions

Banerjee has additionally alleged that despite clear directions from the Supreme Court in earlier petitions related to the SIR, electoral officers continue to receive instructions through WhatsApp messages. She has claimed that the list of voters placed in the ‘logical discrepancy’ category has not been uploaded online, raising concerns about transparency.

Citing reports from districts such as Malda, the plea states that around 20,000 new cases were shifted into the logical discrepancy category on January 22, 2026, days after the Supreme Court passed an order on January 19. Banerjee has described this as a “nefarious plan” to inflate discrepancy numbers and publish a massive list later, calling it illegal and a blatant disregard of the apex court’s order.