Indian fast bowler Mohammed Shami and his brother Mohammed Kaif have received official summons to appear before the Election Commission of India for a Special Intensive Revision hearing. The notification was formally dispatched on Monday from Kartju Nagar School located in Jadavpur, South Kolkata. Shami is registered as a voter in Ward No. 93 of the Kolkata Municipal Corporation, which comes under the Rashbehari assembly constituency, NDTV reported.
The cricketer’s hearing dates have been fixed between January 9 and 11. Shami was unable to attend Monday’s scheduled appearance as he is currently competing for Bengal in the Vijay Hazare Trophy in Rajkot. He has informed election officials that he will appear at a later date, according to Indian Express.
Though originally from Uttar Pradesh, Shami has been a longtime Kolkata resident due to his professional cricket commitments. He relocated to the city from Uttar Pradesh during his youth following his coach’s recommendation.
Trinamool Congress parliamentarian Dev, whose real name is Deepak Adhikari, has also been issued a summons for the SIR hearing. Three additional family members have received similar notices, media outlets reported. The actor-politician was born in Ghatal, West Medinipur, and his family subsequently relocated to Mumbai. After his education, Dev shifted to Kolkata to pursue his acting ambitions and currently resides in a South City apartment in South Kolkata, where his family has also settled.
Beyond his status as a Tollywood star, Dev serves as a three-time Member of Parliament representing his birthplace constituency of Ghatal. The governing Trinamool Congress has characterized the notice sent to Dev—an actor and elected representative—as deliberate harassment. Other notable individuals summoned by the ECI include celebrated poet Joy Goswami, popular Bengali actress Laboni Sarkar, her spouse Kaushik Bandyopadhyay, and actor Anirban Bhattacharya.
SIR in Bengal
The Election Commission’s October 27 SIR directives required voters to complete forms linking themselves or family members to the electoral rolls from the last comprehensive revision conducted in West Bengal in 2002. Voters needed to be ‘mapped’ to the 2002 rolls either through their own registration or a relative’s entry to maintain future voter eligibility.
On December 16, the Election Commission released West Bengal’s provisional electoral rolls following SIR procedures, removing over 58 lakh voter names for various reasons including deaths and migrations, while restructuring voter demographics across districts and border areas ahead of the 2026 state assembly elections.
This process has triggered significant political controversy in Bengal, where elections are scheduled for later in 2026. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee announced Monday that she intends to challenge the SIR of electoral rolls in court, criticizing the “inhumane” manner in which it was implemented statewide.
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Previously, TMC MP Abhishek Banerjee held discussions with the Election Commission regarding the SIR of West Bengal’s electoral rolls, claiming the party’s objections were dismissed and describing the Chief Election Commissioner as “aggressive” during their interaction.