2 hrs ago
Former Bengal Election Chiefs Raise Concerns Over SIR
The Election Commission gives instructions to officials who help run elections.
Former Bengal election chiefs said officials can share concerns, but they are expected to follow those instructions.
Debashis Sen said the Supreme Court’s comments raised questions about the voter-registration process.
The court said it had not approved changes to Form 6, which is used to register new voters.
Subrata Gupta said Form 6 is different from the forms used in the SIR for people already on the voter list.
Gupta said many voters received notices and hearings were held.
He said 27 lakh entries were deleted after judicial officers reviewed cases.
Sen warned that removing legitimate voters could affect their ability to vote.
Former Bengal chief electoral officers Debashis Sen and Basudeb Banerjee said CEOs must follow Election Commission of India instructions, though they may offer feedback.
Sen said the Supreme Court’s Monday observations suggested the SIR needed scrutiny and criticized changes to Form 6, used for new voter registration.
The Supreme Court clarified it had not approved changes to Form 6; Subrata Gupta said that form differs from the SIR enumeration forms for existing voters.
Gupta said 58 lakh names were deleted under the absent, shifted, dead and duplicate category, while 1.5 crore voters received notices over logical discrepancies.
Gupta said 27 lakh entries were deleted after hearings overseen by judicial officers, and the Election Commission provided infrastructure support in that stage.
- Who
- Former Bengal chief electoral officers Debashis Sen and Basudeb Banerjee, and SIR adviser Subrata Gupta.
- What
- They discussed Election Commission instructions, Supreme Court observations about Form 6, and voter deletions during Bengal’s SIR.
- Where
- West Bengal, India.
- When
- The Supreme Court observations were made on Monday; Sen spoke on Tuesday. No calendar date is stated.
- Why
- The discussion concerned voter registration, SIR procedures, and whether legitimate voters could lose the chance to vote.
Concerns about voter rights
Election officials' account
Impact of deletions
Concerns about voter rights
Debashis Sen said removing legitimate voters could take away their voting rights and distort the poll framework.
Election officials' account
Subrata Gupta said 27 lakh entries were deleted after hearings overseen by judicial officers, and that the Election Commission had no role in that second part of the process.
Form 6 and the SIR
Concerns about voter rights
Sen said the Supreme Court’s observations suggested the SIR needed scrutiny and raised concerns about a change to Form 6.
Election officials' account
Gupta said the court’s observation concerned Form 6 for new registrations, whereas the SIR dealt with enumeration forms for existing voters.
Officials' discretion
Concerns about voter rights
Sen and Basudeb Banerjee said CEOs were bound to follow Election Commission instructions, though Banerjee described making informal suggestions.
Election officials' account
Gupta said officials and observers gave the Election Commission feedback during the SIR, with some suggestions accepted and others rejected.
Key facts
- Sen's tenure as Bengal CEO
- August 2005 to March 2010
- Banerjee's election period
- He was Bengal CEO during the 2004 Lok Sabha elections.
- Form 6
- Used for new voter registration; the Supreme Court said it had not approved changes to it.
- ASDD deletions
- Gupta said 58 lakh voter names were deleted under the absent, shifted, dead and duplicate category.
- Logical discrepancy notices
- Gupta said 1.5 crore voters received notices; hearings were conducted for approximately 90 lakh.
- Judicial hearings and deletions
- Gupta said the Supreme Court directed the Calcutta High Court to conduct hearings in 60 lakh cases, and 27 lakh entries were deleted.
- Judges involved
- Gupta said 200 judges came from Jharkhand and Odisha, while 250 were from Bengal.
Quotes
Basudeb Banerjee
Former Bengal chief electoral officer and chief secretary
“Taking away the right to vote in the name of some AI-generated logical discrepancy is wrong. When 27 lakh voters are deleted, the poll framework is distorted.”
telegraphindia.com
“I had informally made requests to the EC on several issues. Some were accepted, some were not.”
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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