SIR hearings lag, Malda, South 24 Pgns DMs seek extension
Times of India | 6 February 2026
Kolkata: Facing the highest number of logical discrepancy notices, the district magistrates of several districts, including Malda and South 24 Parganas, have sought an extension of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearing deadline, a senior EC official said on Thursday.
This is the first time that a few DMs, who also serve as DEOs, have written to the Commission seeking an extension of the deadline beyond Feb 7. "Several DMs, including Malda and South 24 Parganas, made a proposal to us to extend the hearing deadline," the official said.
According to the EC's schedule, the hearing and verification phase will continue until Feb 7, with the final electoral rolls slated to be published on Feb 14. An EC official recently noted that in Malda, Murshidabad, North 24 Parganas and South 24 Parganas, not all hearings may be completed by Feb 7, as the number of people being called for hearings in these four districts is significantly higher than in other areas. Last week, deputy election commissioner Sanjay Kumar visited these four districts, along with Nadia. The visit followed complaints and detection of discrepancies in document uploads. The EC sanctioned a total of 50 AEROs for the Metiabruz and Kurseong Assembly constituencies to expedite the hearing process.
"The EROs rejected 50,000 electors' cases in the logical discrepancies category, as they didn't turn up for hearings. Their names can be deleted from the final rolls only after the hearings. Out of a little over 31 lakh unmapped cases, 10–15% didn't appear in hearings," an EC official said.