The West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee (WBPCC) filed a petition challenging the ongoing Systematic Identification and Revision (SIR) process, which the Supreme Court will hear on November 11.
A bench led by Justice Surya Kant will hear the matter after the party requested the court to take it up alongside a similar petition concerning Bihar listed for the same date.
During the brief mention before the bench, Justice Surya Kant remarked that the Chief Justice of India (CJI) would decide whether the same bench would also hear the West Bengal matter.
The WBPCC’s counsel noted that petitions from West Bengal and Tamil Nadu on the same issue were already pending and sought a joint hearing.
The SIR voter list revision, launched on November 4 across 12 states and union territories, has triggered widespread resistance in West Bengal. Despite the protests, booth-level officers have already distributed over 3.04 crore forms in the state.
Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee opposed the process and declared that she would not fill the SIR form until authorities required every citizen in the state to do so. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) alleged that authorities could use the exercise to target voters and manipulate electoral rolls.
On the other hand, the BJP claimed that TMC’s resistance stems from fears that the SIR process will expose fake voters and weaken its minority vote bank.
DMK Challenges SIR in Tamil Nadu
Earlier, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) had filed a similar petition in Tamil Nadu, questioning the Election Commission’s 27 October notification that initiated the SIR process. DMK’s organisation secretary RS Bharathi called the move arbitrary and unconstitutional and urged the court to quash the notification.
The DMK petition argued that the SIR process violates Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Indian Constitution, which guarantee the right to equality, freedom of expression, and the right to life. The party warned that the measure could lead to the arbitrary exclusion of genuine voters from the electoral rolls.
The upcoming Supreme Court hearing is expected to clarify the legal standing of the SIR initiative. The issue has already become a politically charged matter across multiple states.
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