Kolkata, Feb 12 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) has expressed concern over instances of “unlisted” documents being accepted as supporting identity proof by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs) during hearings related to the draft electoral roll in West Bengal.

Hearings on claims and objections to the draft voters’ list are currently under way in the state, alongside verification of supporting identity documents submitted during the sessions. According to sources, micro-observers have reported several cases in which documents not included in the Commission’s approved list were accepted as valid proof of identity.

Sources indicated that the Commission was surprised at the number of such cases, particularly in view of repeated instructions issued earlier cautioning officials against accepting documents outside the notified list.

The Commission has decided to identify the EROs and AEROs concerned and seek explanations from them regarding the acceptance of documents not specified under the ECI guidelines, a source in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said.

“The Commission had specified a total of 13 documents that would be accepted as supporting identity documents. It had also directed the EROs and AEROs on more than one occasion that no document other than the 13 specified ones should be accepted as valid supporting proof. Even after that, such a large number of violations has irked the Commission,” the source said.

While the hearings on claims and objections to the draft voters’ list will continue till February 14, scrutiny of the documents submitted during the sessions will continue till February 21. The final voters’ list is scheduled to be published on February 28.

Following the publication of the final roll, a full Bench of the ECI is expected to visit Kolkata for a two-day review of the post-special intensive revision (SIR) scenario. Thereafter, the Commission is likely to announce the polling schedule for the upcoming Assembly elections in the state.

–IANS

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