Bengal SIR: Irregularity, security breach in hearing phase be treated seriously, cautions ECI

The Election Commission has cautioned West Bengal poll officials to treat any irregularity or security breach during hearings on claims and objections in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls seriously, directing strict corrective and disciplinary action where required.

Kolkata: With the phase of hearing on claims and objections in the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in West Bengal to start after the publication of the draft voters’ list on December 16, the Election Commission of India (ECI) has given instructions to the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) to take every instance of irregularity and breach of security seriously and initiate corrective measures accordingly.

Insiders from the CEO’s office said that the ECI is not in favour of deploying Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) personnel to provide security for the hearing sessions from the beginning and instead wants to rely on the goodwill of state police forces to ensure security for those sessions.

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“However, in case the CEO’s office notices any sort of breach of the security in the hearing session due to some negligence, deliberate or inadvertent, on part of the state police forces deputed there, it would immediately bring the matter to the notice of the Commission, which will then give instructions on the next course of action,” a CEO’s office insider said.

Similarly, the insiders added, the Commission had directed the CEO’s office to convey the message loud and clear to the Electoral Offices, who will engage in the hearing session, that any deliberate irregularity on their part would be dealt with strict disciplinary measures by the ECI as per the existing legal provisions.

The ECI had also directed the CEO’s office to conduct the hearings on the claims and objections in the second stage of the three-level Special Intensive Revision (SIR) only at the offices of the District Magistrates who are also the District Electoral Officers concerned.

The ECI has directed that such hearings should not be conducted at the Block Development Offices or the Panchayat Offices under any circumstances, sources in the CEO’s office confirmed.

At the same time, the ECI has also directed that the hearings in the matter should be webcast mandatorily, and the footage of the same should be preserved. Following the strict instructions from the Commission, instructions have been sent to all the District Magistrates, as well as the District Electoral Officers, to make all the necessary arrangements on this count.