The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal is set to get delayed after the Supreme Court Monday issued certain directions to the Election Commission of India (ECI) to ensure the scrutiny of voters flagged for “logical discrepancies” is carried out transparently and without inconveniencing the public.
The deadlines for West Bengal SIR hearings and final electoral roll publication are February 7 and 14, respectively.
A senior ECI official said, “After the Supreme Court directions, it is almost impossible to complete all hearings within the stipulated time and make a flawless final electoral roll.”
However, sources linked to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal have indicated that the ECI has not specified how long the hearing process will take or when the final voter list will be published.
So far, the West Bengal CEO’s office has not issued final guidelines for voters who have received hearing notices. This is pending the issuance of clear guidelines from the ECI. According to sources within the CEO’s office, once the new guidelines are published, those who are unwilling or unable to attend the hearing will be given another opportunity to participate.
On Monday, the Supreme Court directed the ECI to publish the list of people to whom notices have been sent, citing “logical discrepancies” in the enumeration forms submitted by them. The lists have to be published in the panchayat/block offices.
The court noted that around 1.25 crores of notices have been sent to various persons, citing discrepancies such as mismatches in parents’ names, a low age gap with parents, the number of children cited as more than six, among others.
The court clarified that individuals who have received notices from the ECI may submit their documents or objections through authorised agents, such as booth-level agents (BLAs). These agents must be appointed via a letter that includes a signature or thumbprint.
Taking into consideration the concerns expressed by the petitioners that persons will have to travel hundreds of kilometres to respond to the notices, the court directed that the office for submitting documents/ objections should be set up within the panchayat bhavan/ block offices. If the documents are found to be unsatisfactory, the election officers should give the persons an opportunity of a hearing, which can be attended by the authorised agent.