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EC Orders 5-Year Document Preservation in Bengal Voter Revision

The Election Commission of India has directed that all documents from the ongoing Special Intensive Revision of voters in West Bengal be preserved for the next five years. Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar issued this instruction during a virtual meeting with state electoral officers, warning of severe consequences for lapses. He specifically cautioned that officers, including IAS officials, could face punitive action and career impacts if foreign nationals are found on the final voter list even years later. The CEC also emphasized that only 13 designated documents are to be accepted as valid proof of identity during the revision process.

Key Points: EC: Bengal Voter Revision Docs Preserved for 5 Years

  • 5-year document preservation ordered
  • Action against officers for foreign nationals on list
  • Only 13 valid ID proofs to be accepted
  • Scrutiny phase to continue till Feb 21
2 min read

Documents during Bengal SIR to be preserved for five years: EC

Election Commission directs preservation of West Bengal SIR documents for five years, warns of action against officers for lapses.

"if the presence of any foreign national is detected... the concerned electoral officer... will be liable to be punished - CEO's office insider"

Kolkata, Feb 13

The Election Commission of India said on Friday that the documents related to the ongoing Special Intensive Revision in West Bengal will be preserved for the next five years.

Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), Gyanesh Kumar, gave this direction at a virtual meeting, which was attended among others, by the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, his 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 CEO's office insider present at the virtual meeting 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 Commission 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.

At the meeting, the CEC, especially directed the DEOs to ensure that only 13 documents listed by the Commission are accepted as the valid identity proof documents furnished at the hearing sessions on claims and objections regarding the draft voters' list in West Bengal.

"The CEC specially asked the DEOs to be vigilant about this matter during the phase of scrutiny of the documents furnished at the hearing sessions. At the virtual meeting, the CEC's office also flagged several instances of unlisted and ineligible documents being uploaded in the system by the EROs and AEROs concerned," the CEO's office insider said.

CEC Kumar also cautioned that strong disciplinary action will be initiated against the electoral officers concerned if future violations in the matter come to the notice of the Commission.

The CEO was advised by the CEC to personally look into such matters.

The extended deadline for the hearing sessions on claims and objections regarding the draft voters' list is set to expire on Saturday.

The phase of the scrutiny of the documents furnished at the hearing session will continue till February 21.

The final voters' list will be published on February 28.

- IANS

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
Good move. Accountability is key. But I hope this scrutiny is applied uniformly across all states and not just seen as targeting one region. The EC must ensure the process is fair and transparent for every citizen.
R
Rohit P
Finally! Strict action against officials who mess with the voter list. This "foreign national" issue has been a concern for too long. The threat to their ACR is a real deterrent. Hope they implement it properly.
S
Sarah B
As an observer, I appreciate the detailed procedural focus. Limiting to 13 specific documents should reduce errors and fraud. The timeline is tight though - hope the officers on the ground have the resources to manage this intensive revision properly.
M
Meera T
The EC is doing its job, but what about the common people? Many in my area are confused about which documents are valid. There should be more awareness campaigns in local languages. The process should be voter-friendly too.
V
Vikram M
Directly linking an officer's career growth to the accuracy of the voter list is a masterstroke. This is how you get bureaucracy to work with accountability. Hope this becomes a model for other critical governance areas as well.

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