SC asks EC to respond to TMC MPs' pleas on Bengal voter roll revision

The Supreme Court on Monday sought a response from the Election Commission on fresh interim pleas of Trinamool Congress MPs alleging arbitrariness and procedural irregularities in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal. A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi took note of applications filed by lawmakers Derek O Brien and Dola Sen in their pending petitions challenging the procedural actions taken in the ongoing SIR in the state. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal, appearing for Derek O Brien, said the EC's instructions on the SIR are being issued through social media platforms like WhatsApp and made booth-level officers (BLOs) act without any formal orders. Sibal also said the poll panel has introduced a 'logical discrepancy' category of voters, who may be issued notice for a quasi-judicial hearing on their eligibility over errors or anomalies in the voter details. The counsel representing the poll panel sought two weeks to f