West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on February 4, 2026, appeared before the Supreme Court in person on the matter involving SIR in Bengal. File
| Photo Credit: The Hindu
The Trinamool Congress on Friday (February 20, 2026) described the Supreme Court’s order on assigning judicial officers to complete the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal a huge victory for the people of the State.
During the hearing, a Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant, and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and N.V. Anjaria directed the Calcutta High Court to depute serving and former judicial officers to help with the SIR.
“Today marks a historic demolition of @ECISVEEP‘s bloated arrogance. The CEC once strutted around like an untouchable overlord, convinced his word was final. That delusion has been shattered into oblivion. Roll observers had been stonewalling and parking legitimate claims, all while plotting to erase legitimate voters in a bid to rig the game for their political masters. But the Supreme Court just delivered the knockout punch,” the Trinamool posted on social media.
The development assumes significance as the SIR process is yet to be completed in the poll-bound State. The Supreme Court directed the poll body to publish the processed list of electoral rolls on February 28.
Hailing the apex court’s intervention, the ruling party in West Bengal said all claims, objections, and logical discrepancy cases will now be handled by impartial judicial officers appointed by the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court.
“This is a blow to an Election Commission that ditched its sacred constitutional duty and morphed into a partisan hit squad serving BJP’s vested interests. They’ve been dragged back to reality and reminded that the sovereign power of the people crushes the petty ambitions of those in power,” the Trinamool said.
West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had on February 4, 2026, appeared before the Supreme Court in person on the matter involving SIR in Bengal.
Reacting to the Supreme Court intervention, West Bengal BJP chief spokesperson Debjit Sarkar said that Trinamool Congress has tried to oppose the SIR from the start and should be held responsible if Assembly elections are not held in time. Elections to the West Bengal Assembly are scheduled in the next few months.
Mr. Sarkar said that judges of the Supreme Court should take into account that West Bengal is the only State where BDO offices are being attacked. “What is happening in West Bengal is not rule of law, but a party rule,” he said. During the hearing, the Supreme Court also sought a status report on alleged incidents of violence in the State.
CPI(M) state secretary Md. Salim said that SIR is a disruption imposed on the people of the State from the rule book of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. “The Supreme Court has said that there is a trust deficit. This is exactly what is happening… West Bengal is undergoing a traumatic phase,” he said. The CPI(M) said that if names of genuine voters are deleted in SIR, there will be protests.
Welcoming the Supreme Court’s “extraordinary” ruling, the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee urged the higher judiciary to “ensure” that the final electoral roll gets published on February 28 such that the “Assembly election schedule is not disrupted”.
In the statement, the Congress said that “an all-party meeting should be convened urgently at the State level to consult the major stakeholders.” It also said that there should be “no deletion of names from the draft electoral roll” on the basis of “arbitrary and illegal logical discrepancies”.
Published – February 20, 2026 08:01 pm IST
