Mamata Banerjee Argues Her Own Case in Supreme Court, Claims Justice Not Being Delivered in West Bengal SIR Issue

In a historic first, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee personally presented her petition before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, acting as her own counsel in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) matter. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) leader has filed the petition challenging the Election Commission’s ongoing SIR process in the state.

Personal Arguments in Court
While senior advocate Shyam Divan was present to represent her, Mamata Banerjee stood in front of the bench headed by Chief Justice Suryakant and briefly made oral submissions. The bench, also comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi, heard her arguments and issued a notice to the Election Commission, directing a response by next Monday.

Claims of Denied Justice
Mamata Banerjee argued that the SIR process was intended to remove names, not add them. She highlighted instances where women who had adopted their husband’s surname after marriage or moved to their marital homes were marked as mismatched and had their names removed. “The problem is that when everything is done, we are still not getting justice. Justice is crying behind closed doors,” she told the court. “I have written letters to the Chief Election Commissioner. I am a very ordinary person; I am not fighting for my party alone.”

Targeting West Bengal, Ignoring Other States
The Chief Minister claimed that the SIR process is being used to specifically target West Bengal ahead of elections. “The Election Commission is not following the Supreme Court’s directive to accept Aadhaar cards here, while other states are complying. Why rush in two months for something that should take two years, right before elections?” she questioned. She further noted the hardships caused to citizens, citing over 100 deaths linked to the stress of SIR verification.

Mamata also criticized the appointment of “micro-observers” by the Election Commission allegedly from the BJP, stating, “They are targeting Bengal and trying to crush its people. They have appointed micro-observers only for Bengal.” She even referred to the Election Commission as the “WhatsApp Commission” for issuing instructions via WhatsApp.

Supreme Court Bench Directs Response
At the end of the hearing, the bench issued a notice to the Election Commission and asked for a reply by Monday. The bench suggested that if the West Bengal government provides a list of Group B officers who could be deployed for SIR duties, it could provide relief regarding the role of micro-observers.