SC allows Mamata Banerjee’s plea claiming defeat margins in 31 seats were lower than SIR deletions

The development came during hearings connected to the prolonged legal challenge surrounding the Election Commission’s voter roll revision exercise in West Bengal, which had triggered major political controversy ahead of the Assembly elections.

TMC raises concerns over 31 Assembly constituencies

Appearing for Banerjee and other petitioners, senior counsel argued before the top court that in at least 31 Assembly constituencies, the number of deleted or excluded voters during the SIR process exceeded the final victory margin.

The petitioners claimed the figures raised serious concerns about the possible impact of the electoral roll revision on election outcomes and the integrity of the process.

The issue has remained central to TMC’s allegations that the voter revision exercise influenced the electoral outcome after the party’s defeat to the BJP in the state polls.

Election Commission opposes challenge to poll results

The Election Commission of India opposed the submissions and argued that disputes related to election outcomes could only be addressed through election petitions after results are declared. It also maintained that broader constitutional challenges to the SIR process could not be used to directly question election results.

According to the Commission, legal remedies under election law were already available for aggrieved candidates and parties.

Supreme Court leaves legal remedies open

While refraining from making any final observations on the merits of the allegations, the Supreme Court said affected candidates and political parties were free to pursue fresh pleas or other remedies available under election law.

The court’s observations effectively leave the door open for separate legal challenges related to specific constituencies and electoral outcomes.

SIR exercise became major flashpoint before Bengal polls

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise emerged as one of the most politically contentious issues in West Bengal before the Assembly elections. Mamata Banerjee repeatedly accused the Election Commission of carrying out “targeted deletions” in the name of electoral roll clean-up and alleged that genuine voters were being disenfranchised.

At the height of the controversy earlier this year, Banerjee had personally appeared before the Supreme Court, a rare move for a sitting Chief Minister, and argued that the exercise was aimed “not for inclusion but deletion”.

Mamata alleged legitimate voters were unfairly removed

Banerjee had claimed that lakhs of legitimate voters, including women, migrant workers and minorities, were unfairly flagged during the revision process because of spelling mismatches, address-related issues and other alleged discrepancies in records.

The Supreme Court had earlier expressed concern over the scale of deletions reported during hearings on the SIR exercise.

However, the Election Commission has consistently defended the revision drive, saying that it was necessary to remove duplicate, shifted and ineligible voters from the electoral rolls while ensuring due process and appellate mechanisms for affected individuals.