The Supreme Court on Monday said former West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee and others were free to file fresh applications over their allegation that the victory margins in several assembly constituencies were lower than the number of votes deleted during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi took note of the submissions after senior advocate and TMC MP Kalyan Banerjee alleged that in 31 constituencies, the margin of victory was less than the number of votes removed from the electoral rolls.
Opposing the submissions, the Election Commission argued that the appropriate legal remedy was an election petition and said the poll panel could be held accountable for issues arising from the SIR process and subsequent appeals related to the addition or deletion of votes.
In the recently concluded West Bengal assembly elections, the BJP won 207 seats in the 294-member House, while the TMC secured 80 seats.
The state recorded a voter turnout of over 90 per cent in the polls.
The apex court was hearing a batch of petitions, including one filed by Mamata Banerjee, concerning the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls in the state.
