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200 Judicial Officers From Jharkhand, Odisha Join Bengal Voter List Cleanup

Two hundred judicial officers from Jharkhand and Odisha will join West Bengal's voter document adjudication process from Monday after a weekend of training. Their deployment will bring the total number of officers involved in the massive exercise to 732, with most stationed in Kolkata and others in key district towns. The move comes as the Election Commission of India's full bench, led by Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, arrives to review the process and poll preparedness. The judicial adjudication is handling over 60 lakh cases of "logical discrepancy" in voter documents, with a crucial Supreme Court hearing on the matter scheduled for March 10.

Key Points: 200 Officers Join Bengal Voter List Adjudication Process

  • 200 officers to join from March 9
  • Total adjudicators to reach 732
  • Over 60 lakh cases referred for review
  • ECI full bench to review process
  • Supreme Court hearing scheduled for March 10
2 min read

Bengal SIR: 200 officers from Jharkhand, Odisha to join judicial adjudication process from Monday

200 judicial officers from Jharkhand and Odisha deployed to expedite voter document adjudication in West Bengal ahead of Assembly polls.

"With the joining of the 200 judicial officers... the total number... will increase to 732. - CEO Office Source"

Kolkata, March 6

The 200 judicial officers from the two neighbouring states of Jharkhand and Odisha will reach West Bengal by Saturday, and join from March 9, the ongoing exercise of the judicial adjudication of the voters' documents identified under the "logical discrepancy" category by the Election Commission of India.

They will be undergoing a two-day training programme on the judicial adjudication procedure on Saturday and Sunday, and thereafter, from Monday, they will join the team of existing judicial officers from the state already involved in the ongoing judicial adjudication process, said sources in the office of Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal.

"With the joining of the 200 judicial officers from Jharkhand and Odisha, the total number of judicial officers involved in the adjudication process will increase to 732. While most of these 200 judicial officers coming from Jharkhand and Odisha will be deployed in Kolkata, a few of them will also be deployed in other major district towns like Bardhaman in East Midnapore district, Asansol in West Burdwan district, Kharagpur in West Midnapore district, and Siliguri in Darjeeling district," source in the CEO's office said.

Their accommodation has been arranged mainly closer to the airport in Kolkata and important railway stations, both in Kolkata as well as in the district towns.

Two other crucial developments related to the judicial adjudication part in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) and the poll-preparedness for the forthcoming crucial Assembly elections in the state are scheduled next week especially on Monday and Tuesday.

The full bench of the ECI led by the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar, will be arriving in Kolkata on the night of March 8 with a packed schedule for the next two days to review both the ongoing judicial exercise as well as the preparedness for the forthcoming Assembly polls.

On March 10, which is on Tuesday, a crucial hearing on the SIR and related judicial adjudication is scheduled at the Supreme Court.

The final voters' list in West Bengal, minus the cases referred for judicial adjudication, was published on February 28. The supplementary list will be published in due course as per an earlier order of the Apex Court.

Over 60 lakh cases were referred for judicial adjudication, and till Thursday night, the process had been completed for around five lakh cases till Thursday night, as per the statistics available from the CEO's office.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Bringing in officers from other states is a good move for neutrality. The Supreme Court hearing on the 10th will be crucial. The EC must ensure this entire exercise is transparent and above political influence.
R
Rohit P
Only 5 lakh cases done out of 60 lakh? The pace is too slow, yaar. Even with 200 more officers, the math doesn't look good. They need a much bigger team or a simpler process to finish before the polls.
S
Sarah B
Interesting to see inter-state cooperation for election integrity. Accommodation near transport hubs is smart for logistics. The full ECI bench review shows how serious they are taking Bengal's electoral roll.
M
Meera T
As a citizen, my only request is please don't remove legitimate voters in the name of "logical discrepancy". Many elderly people in my para have faced issues with documents. The process should be fair, not just fast.
V
Vikram M
Deployment in key districts like Asansol, Siliguri, and Kolkata makes sense—these are always politically sensitive areas. Hope the supplementary list is published well in time for people to check their names.

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