New Delhi, May 11: The Supreme Court on Monday suggested that the All India Trinamool Congress (AITC) consider filing separate applications to raise concerns over the Election Commission of India’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls, which the party claims affected Assembly election outcomes.

During the hearing, the Court also noted that it would seek a report from the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court regarding pending appeals from individuals seeking inclusion in voter lists and examine ways to resolve the matter expeditiously.

Senior Advocate Kalyan Banerjee, representing the Trinamool Congress, argued that deletions carried out during the SIR process materially influenced election results. He cited a constituency where the TMC lost by 862 votes while nearly 5,000 appeals for voter inclusion remained pending.

Counsel for the Election Commission of India (ECI) responded that any alleged lapses in the SIR process could be addressed by the Commission, and disputes regarding election outcomes would need to be raised through formal election petitions. Banerjee, however, countered that the SIR exercise itself could serve as a ground in such petitions.

In the recent West Bengal Assembly elections, the BJP secured 206 seats in the 294-member Assembly, while the TMC, after 15 years in power, won 80 seats.

Earlier, on April 24, the Supreme Court directed Appellate Tribunals to prioritize hearings for individuals excluded from voter rolls during the SIR exercise in West Bengal, particularly in cases demonstrating urgency. A bench led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant allowed those excluded to approach the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court with their grievances.

The Court stated,“We grant liberty to the petitioners and other stakeholders to approach the Chief Justice of the Calcutta High Court on the administrative side. If judicial intervention is required, they may also approach the Chief Justice of the High Court. Appellants who have been excluded during the SIR process and have pending appeals may be granted out-of-turn hearings, especially if urgency is demonstrated.”

During Monday’s proceedings, Banerjee noted that only 136 appeals had been disposed of out of nearly 27 lakh cases and urged for faster resolution of pending appeals.