New Delhi, Jan 6 (NationPress) Trinamool Congress leader Derek O’Brien has approached the Supreme Court requesting immediate directives against the Election Commission of India (ECI). He alleges significant procedural irregularities, arbitrariness, and a “wholly unreasonable” timeline concerning the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal.

In an interlocutory application submitted to the top court, O’Brien is seeking an extension of the January 15 deadline for filing claims and objections, arguing that the draft electoral roll published on December 16, 2025, has “substantially aggravated the difficulties” faced by eligible and bona fide electors.

The application claims that nearly 58.2 lakh names were removed from the draft roll without notice or personal hearings, violating statutory procedures and the poll body’s own standard operating protocols.

It further states that there has been a sharp decline in the electorate, from 7.66 crore voters to 7.08 crore, due to “backend, centralised, and software-driven deletions”, with minimal involvement of Electoral Registration Officers (EROs).

O’Brien raised serious concerns regarding the issuance of more than 50 instructions via informal channels like WhatsApp and verbal directions, alleging that the ECI has effectively replaced formal statutory communication with these informal messages. “The ECI has, in effect, substituted its formal system of statutory communication with what is being informally described at the field level as a ‘WhatsApp Commission’,” the application asserts.

It further contends that such practices lack legal legitimacy, authenticity, and an audit trail, undermining accountability in a process that significantly impacts the right to vote.

“The ECI cannot act arbitrarily or capriciously, nor can it replace legally prescribed procedures with ad hoc or informal mechanisms,” the plea emphasizes, arguing that directions to field officials through messaging platforms have led to administrative chaos and a loss of procedural fairness.

O’Brien also criticized the introduction of a new category called “logical discrepancies”, under which over 1.3 crore voters are being flagged for hearings without any written orders, published guidelines, or statutory basis.

The application alleges that these discrepancies are being generated through undisclosed algorithms, disproportionately impacting women voters and minorities due to spelling variations and post-marriage surname changes.

Highlighting the challenges faced by senior citizens, persons with disabilities, and migrant workers, the plea asserts that the insistence on physical hearings imposes an undue burden on vulnerable groups. “Requiring mandatory physical hearings in such instances risks disenfranchising the very citizens most reliant on constitutional protections,” it states.

The application calls for an extension of the January 15 deadline for filing claims and objections, a halt to the issuance of instructions via informal channels, the withdrawal of the “logical discrepancy” category, the restoration of the exclusive statutory role of EROs, and the postponement of the publication of the final electoral roll, which is scheduled for February 14.

The plea warns that finalizing the electoral roll under the current conditions would “sacrifice legality, accuracy, and fairness at the altar of speed” and lead to the “irreversible exclusion of genuine electors without effective remedy.”