Kolkata: The Election Commission of India (ECI) clarified on Saturday that the Permanent Resident Certificate/ Domicile Certificate will be accepted as a valid eligibility document for the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the electoral rolls.
The Commission communicated this decision in a letter addressed to West Bengal’s Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Manoj Agarwal.
Separately, it was learnt that the EC has directed Booth Level Officers (BLOs) in the state to distribute door-to-door voter slips strictly as per guidelines, with the document containing all relevant information of electors.
It may be noted that Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress (TMC) chairperson Mamata Banerjee has on more than one occasion questioned the role of the poll body in rejecting domicile certificates in SIR. She claimed that domicile certificates were valid during the Bihar SIR, but were not being accepted in Bengal.
In the letter issued on Saturday, the ECI stated that as per the SIR guidelines notified on October 27, 2025, the Permanent Resident Certificate is included among the acceptable documents for voter list revision. However, the certificate must be issued strictly in accordance with the rules prescribed by the Government of West Bengal.
The Commission clarified that domicile or permanent resident certificates in West Bengal are issued under the state government’s notification dated November 2, 1999, along with subsequent amendments. The ECI has directed Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs), who are responsible for electoral roll management under the Representation of the People Act, 1950, to accept only such legally valid certificates issued only by authorised competent authorities: namely, District Magistrate / Additional District Magistrate / Sub Divisional Officer / Collector (Kolkata).
The Commission has further instructed that this decision be brought immediately to the notice of all concerned officials and be implemented strictly, leaving no scope for relaxation or exceptions during voter list correction.
The hearing phase of the SIR process is scheduled to conclude on February 7 (Saturday).
According to sources, the state Chief Electoral Officer’s office has sought time till February 14 from the Election Commission to complete the SIR hearing process in West Bengal. Hearings are yet to conclude in several of the state’s 294 Assembly constituencies, particularly in parts of Kolkata North and South, South 24-Parganas, North 24-Parganas and Malda districts.
With the last-minute acceptance of domicile certificates as valid documents and the state CEO seeking more time for the conclusion of the hearing process, there is now a high possibility that the deadline may be extended. If so, the publication of the final electoral roll, which is scheduled for February 14, will also be delayed.
Meanwhile, it was learnt that BLOs have been directed to distribute voter slips bearing the official logo of the Commission.
“The voter slips must contain all relevant details, including the elector’s name, age, address, EPIC number, part number, booth number and the name of the polling station,” an EC source reportedly told a news agency.
While guidelines issued by the Commission in 2018 had already placed the responsibility of door-to-door voter slip distribution on BLOs, these instructions were not strictly followed during past elections, the source said.
“If any voter does not receive the slip at home from the designated BLO of the booth concerned, the elector can call the EC helpline number and lodge a complaint,” he said.
The Commission will take strict action against the BLO concerned within 24 hours of receiving such a complaint, the official reportedly stated.