The Chief Minister Raised the Deaths of Booth-level Officers (BLOs) Being Linked to the SIR Exercise

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The Supreme Court advised the Election Commission of India (ECI) to act cautiously during a hearing involving Mamata Banerjee, who urged the bench to safeguard democratic principles. A trained advocate, Mamata became the first sitting CM to present arguments in person during a Supreme Court hearing. She had moved an interlocutory application in the court seeking permission for the same.

Mamata Banerjee in the Supreme Court

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday (February 4, 2026) fought her own case in the Supreme Court as she argued in favour of her plea against the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the state. Banerjee has long opposed the SIR drive in the state and wants the upcoming Assembly elections in the state to be conducted as per the voters' list of 2025.

"Justice is crying behind closed doors," she thundered in the Supreme Court, requesting five minutes' time to present her case before CJI Surya Kant. The CJI agreed and allowed her 15 minutes to speak before the bench.

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"The problem is that in the end, we don't get justice anywhere. I have written six times to the ECI but still did not get any reply," the chief minister argued, which quickly escalated to a full-blown attack on the poll body.

The bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and VM Pancholi, acknowledged that Banerjee's plea is genuine and assured that every issue has a solution.

The court has issued a notice to the ECI and asked it to be careful while sending out SIR notices. "Tell your officers to be a little sensible," it told the EC on a written submission by Banerjee.

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Mamata Addresses Discrimination

The West Bengal CM claimed that SIR notices were sent to prominent people, such as Nobel laureate Amartya Sen, acclaimed Bengali poet Joy Goswami, and Trinamool MP Dipak Adhikari.

The chief minister also raised the deaths of booth-level officers (BLOs) being linked to the SIR exercise and said, "When harvesting season is there, when people are travelling, more than 100 people died. BLOs died. So many are hospitalised. Why not Assam?"

Before the conclusion of the hearing, Banerjee also alleged that Bengal is being "bulldozed." Theatrics were on full display as she appealed with her hands folded before the bench, "Please protect the people's rights, sir."

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Closing Note

A defiant Mamata Banerjee argued that the state doesn't want people to be excluded from the voter lists merely due to language issues and spelling mismatches. Citing an example, she claimed that a woman's name was deleted from the voter rolls because she used her in-laws' surname. 

When a woman changes her residence after marriage, the EC puts her in the logical discrepancy list, she claimed. The next hearing is scheduled on February 9, 2026.