ECI tells Calcutta HC: SIR process afoot in West Bengal
Kolkata: In a report submitted at the Calcutta HIgh Court on Wednesday, the Election Commission of India (ECI) informed that the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in West Bengal has already commenced and that notification will soon be out.
The Commission submitted in its affidavit that “preparatory steps” have been set in motion and a formal notification would follow in due course.
The report was filed before Justice Amrita Sinha, who had earlier sought clarity from the poll panel after allegations surfaced of fake birth and domicile certificates being issued to non-citizens to manipulate voter lists. The complaint was raised by an assistant systems manager at Kakdwip in South 24-Parganas, who is presently under
suspension. Counsel for the petitioner referred to the court’s July 14 order regarding the alleged issuance of 3,558 fake online birth certificates and 558 fake death certificates by the Pathankhali Gram Panchayat in the district. The ECI, in its affidavit, assured the court that the revision process would “weed out” ineligible entries from the rolls. At the same hearing, the Commission’s counsel stated that disciplinary action had been initiated against the complainant for attempting to change the login credentials of an official. The investigating agency submitted that the suspended employee, who has moved for anticipatory bail, was not cooperating with the probe and had failed to hand over the SIM card used on the date of the alleged offence.
Justice Sinha directed the agency to serve notice specifying the documents required and asked the petitioner to cooperate. The anticipatory bail plea was not taken up and will be heard on September 24. Meanwhile, the court granted the accused protection from arrest until November 11. Incidentally, reports on Wednesday claimed that sources in the ECI confirmed that the poll body is preparing to launch a nationwide revision of electoral rolls from October, after holding a review meeting with Chief Electoral Officers of all states and Union Territories.
