West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee may become the first sitting chief minister to argue her own case in the Supreme Court. This will happen if the court permits her to do so. Her petition against the Election Commission of India’s (ECI) Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls will come up for hearing on Wednesday.

The court will hear her plea along with similar petitions filed by leaders of her party, the Trinamool Congress (TMC).

Demand to Scrap SIR in West Bengal

In her petition, Banerjee has asked the Supreme Court to completely scrap the SIR exercise in West Bengal. She wants the 2026 Assembly elections to be held using only the existing 2025 voter list.

She has strongly opposed the revision process. She claims the ECI started it just before elections. She also argues that it may remove genuine voters in the name of verification.

Challenge to ECI Orders and Rules

Banerjee, who is a trained lawyer, has asked the court to cancel all SIR-related orders issued on June 24, 2025, and October 27, 2025. She has also challenged all connected directions.

She has sought a writ ordering the ECI to conduct the Assembly elections using the unchanged 2025 electoral roll. She says the SIR relies on a 2002 voter base and follows an “onerous” verification system. According to her, this threatens voting rights.

Objection to “Logical Discrepancies”

The petition raises concerns over voters marked for “logical discrepancies”. These include spelling mistakes, name mismatches, and small data errors.

Banerjee has asked the court to stop hearings in such cases. She wants officials to fix errors on their own using existing records. She has also demanded that authorities upload all such cases on the websites of chief electoral officers (CEOs) and district electoral officers (DEOs).

Key Reliefs Sought by the Chief Minister

Banerjee has asked the court to:

• Withdraw all earlier hearing notices

• Stop deletion of voters linked to the 2002 rolls who have submitted documents

• Accept Aadhaar as valid identity proof without asking for extra papers

She has also demanded online publication of Form 7 recipients to stop mass deletions. She wants local electoral registration officers (EROs) to decide inter-state migration cases within five days.

In addition, she has sought the removal of micro-observers from the verification process. If that is not possible, she wants them barred from hearings and field checks. She has also asked authorities to accept state-issued documents and follow the ECI’s June 24 guidelines strictly. She wants complainants filing Form 7 objections to appear in person.

Supreme Court’s Earlier Intervention

Banerjee filed the petition days after the Supreme Court stepped in to reduce voter hardship during the SIR process in West Bengal.

Last month, a bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Dipankar Datta and Joymalya Bagchi, issued binding directions to the ECI. The court asked the poll body to make the process more transparent and voter-friendly. It also stressed that no eligible voter should lose their right.

“See the strain and stress going on for ordinary people. Over one crore people have been issued notices…we are going to pass some orders,” the bench said on January 12.

Directions to Protect Voters

The court ruled that voters flagged for discrepancies must get proper notice and enough help. It said they must get a fair chance to prove their identity.

The bench expanded hearing venues to panchayats and block offices. It ordered officials to give written receipts for submitted documents. It also directed the ECI to display lists of voters flagged for “logical discrepancies” at local offices.

The court noted that nearly 12.5 million notices had been issued. It allowed voters to take help from relatives or political party booth-level agents during hearings.

Law and Order Responsibility on State

The Supreme Court placed responsibility for law and order on the state government. It directed district collectors and police superintendents to deploy enough staff. It also held the West Bengal police chief personally responsible for a smooth and peaceful process.

The court listed seven types of “logical discrepancies”. These included voters missing from the 2002 rolls, age gaps with parents or grandparents, gender mismatches, and unusually large family records.

Political Battle Ahead of 2026 Polls

Banerjee’s plea follows her letter to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. She has described the SIR as bureaucratic overreach. She claims it targets marginalised voters and weakens democracy.

Several TMC leaders have already challenged the SIR. However, Banerjee’s personal entry, and her readiness to argue the case herself, raise the political stakes. The case has now become one of the most important election-related legal battles before the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections.

On January 29, the Supreme Court reserved its order on similar petitions against the SIR in Bihar. Bihar was the first state to hold elections after completing the SIR exercise last year.