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West Bengal Allows Proxy Attendance in Voter Revision Hearings for Those Abroad

The Additional Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal has exempted voters temporarily residing abroad from personal appearance at Special Intensive Revision hearings. These individuals can now authorize a family member to attend on their behalf with proof of relation and necessary documents. The ongoing SIR exercise aims to verify voter details and clean the electoral rolls, involving hearings for nearly 32 lakh "unmapped" electors. The hearing phase, which began in late December, will continue with a massive deployment of election officials until February 2026.

Key Points: WB Exempts Students, Workers Abroad from Personal Voter Hearing

  • Exemption for voters abroad
  • Proxy attendance by family
  • SIR hearings for electoral roll cleanup
  • Process follows existing personal appearance rules
2 min read

CEO West Bengal allows exemption from personal appearance in SIR hearings for students, workers outside state

West Bengal's election body allows voters temporarily abroad to send a family member to Special Intensive Revision hearings, easing the process.

"These electors may depute any authorised family member to attend the hearing - Additional Chief Electoral Officer order"

West Bengal, January 9

The Additional Chief Electoral Officer of West Bengal on Thursday granted certain groups of people an exemption from appearing personally in Special Intensive Revision hearings, particularly for students and other individuals who are temporarily residing abroad.

According to the directive from the Additional CEO to all District Election Officers, the exemption applies to the electors who are temporarily residing abroad for the purpose of study, official engagement, medical or any other purpose. Such individuals will not be required to be physically present during SIR hearings before Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) or Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) (Unmapped and logical discrepancy cases).

"These electors may depute any authorised family member to attend the hearing with proof of relation with the elector and submit any of the admissible documents as notified by the Commission vide no. 23/2025-ERS (Vol. I, II), dated 27.10.2025. The procedure being followed for personal appearance cases shall be adopted in this cases also," the order further read.

"This may please be circulated to all EROs/AEROs and Micro Observers for compliance with an immediate effect," the directive added.

Meanwhile, the Special Intensive Revision is being conducted across West Bengal to verify voter details, remove duplicate and ineligible entries, and ensure the electoral rolls remain accurate and inclusive. The exercise involves booth-level officers, electoral registration officers, and hearings at multiple levels to address complaints related to inclusion, deletion, or correction of voter names.

The hearing phase for the ongoing SIR started on December 27 for nearly 32 lakh electors in West Bengal who could not trace themselves, their parents, or their grandparents in the 2002 electoral roll. During the hearing phase, identification documents of these 'unmapped' electors will be recorded and verified by election officials. This phase will conclude on February 7, 2026.

Each Assembly constituency is likely to have 11 hearing tables across multiple venues, like schools or government offices.

Cumulatively, 294 electoral registration officers, 3,200 assistant electoral registration officers, 4,600 micro-observers and over 80,000 booth-level officers will be engaged in the hearing process across the State, sources in the CEO's office said. The Election Commission of India recently appointed micro-observers from existing Group B Central government staff in West Bengal and has been tasked to scrutinise the hearing process in West Bengal.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

R
Rahul R
Good step, but implementation is key. In our village, the BLO didn't even know about this order last week. Hope the directive reaches every officer on the ground. Also, what about migrant workers within India? They face similar issues.
S
Sarah B
As someone who works abroad, this is a relief. The process to maintain our voting rights should not be a punishment for pursuing education or career opportunities outside. More such citizen-friendly policies are needed.
A
Arun Y
While the exemption is good, the scale of "32 lakh unmapped electors" is concerning. How did so many names get missed? The focus should be on a robust and error-free initial roll preparation, not just fixing it later.
K
Kavya N
Finally, some sense! My father is unwell and was stressed about attending a hearing for my sister who is in the UK. This will help so many families. Hope other states also adopt this model. 🙏
M
Michael C
A logical decision in the digital age. If banks and courts can accept remote verification, why not election offices? Next step should be a secure online hearing option to make it even more accessible.

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