Calcutta High Court Seeks ECI Stance on Use of 2002 Voter List for SIR in West Bengal

The Calcutta High Court has asked the ECI to state its position by filing an affidavit on a PIL questioning why the current SIR process in the state is being conducted based on the 2002 voters’ list.

On Thursday, the Acting Chief Justice Sujoy Paul gave ECI till 19th November to file the affidavit to make their position clear.

The move comes in the wake of the petitioner’s request to conduct the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process based on the documents and information available in 2025. The petition has also requested proper security arrangements to be made for BLOs, stating that some of them may be facing hostile reactions while distributing the enumeration forms.

ECI’s counsel Anamika Pandey has argued before the bench that the writ petition is not maintainable as the same issue is already being heard by the Supreme Court.

Also Read: 'Totally False': Mamata Dismisses Claims of her Accepting SIR Form

The political storm surrounding SIR in West Bengal

On the political front, the SIR has been a contentious topic in West Bengal, with the state government under TMC vehemently opposing the move. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee held a protest march in Kolkata on Tuesday, where she said, “If one legitimate person is removed from the voter list, we will make sure to dismantle the BJP government at the Centre.”

On Thursday, a new controversy surrounding Mamata Banerjee also came to light, where it was alleged that she had ‘accepted’ the enumeration form that is currently being handed out in different parts of Bengal by the BLOs. The TMC chief had however, denied the claims. “Until every person in Bengal is filling the form, I myself have not filled any form and will not. Various media and newspapers have published that 'I came out of the residence and received an enumeration form from BLO with my own hands! ' This news is totally false, confusing, and purposeful propaganda," she said in a post on Facebook.