The Supreme Court has asked the Election Commission of India (ECI) to respond to requests from Trinamool Congress MPs regarding extending the January 15 deadline for filing claims and objections in the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in West Bengal. The Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi’s bench considered the concerns raised by MPs Derek O’Brien and Dola Sen about procedural irregularities in the ongoing exercise by the poll body in West Bengal.
The ECI requested two weeks to submit a counter-affidavit during the hearing, but the Supreme Court granted only one week for a response. The court directed the ECI to provide a common reply for both applications filed by the Trinamool MPs and scheduled further hearings for the following Monday.
Previously, Derek O’Brien had approached the Supreme Court seeking urgent intervention against the ECI, citing procedural irregularities and an unreasonable timeline in the electoral roll revision. O’Brien requested an extension of the January 15 deadline, emphasizing issues faced by eligible voters due to deletions and backend software-driven changes in the electoral roll.
