‘Justice crying behind closed doors’: Mamata Banerjee slams ECI in Supreme Court, CJI Kant assures solution

In an unusual moment in the top court, Banerjee bypassed her counsel and addressed the bench directly for nearly 10–15 minutes, raising concerns over what she described as discrimination against poll-bound West Bengal.

The bench, led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, assured her that the court would attempt to resolve the differences and work towards a solution.

“Sir, the problem is… in the end, we are not getting justice anywhere. I have written six times to the ECI but still not getting any reply. Justice is crying behind closed doors,” the Chief Minister said, folding her hands before the bench.

As her submission progressed, Banerjee escalated her criticism of the Election Commission, alleging that the poll body was following a separate and unfair set of rules for West Bengal, one of the 12 states where the voter revision exercise is currently underway.

Repeating allegations she has made outside the courtroom, Banerjee claimed that voters’ names were deleted due to changes in surnames — a common occurrence among married women.

She also alleged that micro-observers appointed for the exercise were drawn from Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-ruled states.

Responding to the allegations, the ECI submitted that non-cooperation by the West Bengal government had compelled it to appoint micro-observers from other states.

Banerjee further drew the court’s attention to six letters she claimed to have written to the Election Commission, alleging that none of them received a response.

Taking note of her submissions, the CJI Surya Kant-led bench issued notice to the Election Commission on Banerjee’s plea. The matter is scheduled to be heard next on Monday.