In a rare and direct challenge, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee personally argued before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, alleging that the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state is a deliberate attempt to target West Bengal ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections. This marks the first time a sitting Chief Minister has made oral submissions before the Supreme Court in a writ petition.

Banerjee, dressed in her signature white sari and a black shawl as a sign of protest, sought the court's permission to explain the irregularities and difficulties faced by citizens during the revision process. She claimed the SIR process is designed for deletion rather than inclusion of voters. She argued that women who change surnames after marriage and move to their in-laws' houses are being deleted due to mismatches. She also contended that many living electors have been wrongly declared dead by the Election Commission of India (ECI).

Banerjee voiced her frustration, stating that justice was being delayed and that her letters to the Election Commission detailing these issues had gone unanswered. She also alleged that the ECI was not following the Supreme Court's direction to accept Aadhaar cards, while other states were accepting them. Banerjee claimed that the poll panel later refused to accept Aadhaar cards, domicile certificates and other state identity documents "only to target Bengal on the eve of elections". She flagged deletions by micro-observers, alleging that mistranslations from Bengali to English were being tagged as "logical discrepancies" to justify voter deletions.

The Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant, assured Banerjee that the court is hearing various petitions concerning the West Bengal SIR process and has already issued directions on January 19 for transparent verification of the logical discrepancy list. He also emphasized ensuring that no innocent voter is excluded. CJI Kant also assured the State that if needed, the bench will direct signing of every document by Booth Level Officers (BLOs).

The Supreme Court has issued a notice to the ECI regarding Banerjee's petition and has scheduled the matter for further hearing on Monday. The court has also instructed the ECI to be more sensitive while issuing notices over name spelling mismatches. Banerjee is expected to appear in person before the apex court again on Monday.