On Wednesday (4th February), West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee will appear before the Supreme Court to seek permission to argue her pending petition against the Election Commission-conducted Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral roll in the poll-bound state.
CM Banerjee is reported to have filed an interlocutory application requesting permission to appear and argue in person. The matter will be heard by a bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul Pancholi.
This comes after Mamata Banerjee recently filed an Article 32 petition challenging the SIR exercise and accusing the Election Commission of political bias and authoritarianism. She alleged that this process was a conspiracy to implement the National Register of Citizens (NRC) through a backdoor. She demanded the quashing of various instructions and directions issued by the ECI. CM Banerjee sought the court’s direction that the 2026 West Bengal Assembly elections be conducted based on the existing electoral rolls instead of the rolls which will be revised after the ongoing SIR exercise.
Notably, Mamata Banerjee obtained her law degree from Jogesh Chandra Choudhury College of Law, Calcutta, and practised as a lawyer till 2003. In her application, Banerjee submitted that she is completely aware of the decorum and procedure of the Supreme Court. She also assured to conduct herself in accordance with established rules and practices.