TMC moves Supreme Court against ECI over SIR, alleges ‘WhatsApp Commission’ in voter revision

TMC Rajya Sabha MP Derek O’Brien filed the petition, alleging that the ECI acted illegally and followed arbitrary procedures during the voter revision drive.

“The ECI cannot act arbitrarily, capriciously or dehors law, nor can it substitute legally prescribed set procedures with ad-hoc or informal mechanisms,” the plea reads, as quoted by NDTV.

The petition further alleged that the ECI has replaced its formal statutory communication system with what it described as a “WhatsApp Commission”, where key instructions, warnings and consequences of alleged non-compliance are being conveyed informally through messaging platforms.

“The ECI has, in effect, substituted its formal system of statutory communication with what is being informally described at the field level as a ‘WhatsApp Commission’,” the plea stated.

The Mamata Banerjee-led party alleged that the Chief Electoral Officer’s (CEO) office issued instructions more than 100 times via WhatsApp, along with several oral directions, to officials conducting the SIR.

The TMC also claimed that Booth Level Agents (BLAs) were not allowed to enter hearing centres in West Bengal during the revision process.

Earlier, TMC national general secretary and Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee met Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, raising concerns over BLAs being denied entry into the hearing centres.

Abhishek Banerjee alleged “vote chori” through the SIR process, which is currently underway in 11 states, including West Bengal.

“Vote chori doesn’t occur during voting. Votes are robbed while preparing the voter roll. West Bengal has been able to identify it, unlike other opposition parties,” Abhishek said.

Meanwhile, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee last week wrote to Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, urging the ECI to halt the SIR immediately.

Key Demands Made by Mamata Banerjee in Her Letter to the ECI:

• Immediate suspension of the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal.
• Restoration of voters’ names already deleted or marked “pending verification” until proper review is completed.
• Extension of deadlines for submission of documents to prevent exclusion of genuine voters.
• Ensuring due process, including prior notice and adequate opportunity for voters to respond before any deletion.
• Protection of marginalised groups, including minorities, migrant workers, daily-wage earners, elderly and tribal communities, from disenfranchisement.
• Deployment of independent observers to ensure transparency and fairness in the revision process.
• Greater clarity and transparency in guidelines issued to booth-level officers and election officials conducting the exercise.