Bengal SIR documents need to be preserved for 5 years: ECI
The Statesman | 14 February 2026
The Election Commission of India (ECI) said on Friday that the documents related to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal have to be preserved for the next five years.
The Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar today held a virtual meeting West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Kumar Agarwal. He is supposed to have given the direction at the virtual meeting, which was also attended subordinate officers in the CEO office, all the district magistrates, the district electoral officers (DEOs), electoral registration officers (EROs) and the assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs).
A source at the CEO’s office said that the CEC cautioned that if the presence of any foreign national is detected on the final voters’ list even after five years from the completion of the voter revision exercise, the concerned electoral officer or officers, including the DEOs, will be liable to be punished by the ECI even then.
“The CEC also cautioned that in case any Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer is found liable, in that case, there will be a long-term impact on his or her annual confidential report, which might impact his or her career growth,” the CEO’s office insider added.