Kolkata, Jan 31 (IANS) The Election Commission of India (ECI) has cautioned that clearing and uploading unlisted identity documents as listed ones during hearings on claims and objections to the draft voters’ list in West Bengal will be treated as “grave and deliberate” lapses by Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) and Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs).

Sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), West Bengal, said that the micro-observers appointed by the Commission to supervise the hearing session have already flagged some instances of “grave and deliberate” mistakes and brought them to the Commission’s notice.

In such cases, the CEO’s official said, the Commission will first seek written explanations from the EROs and AEROs concerned as to why disciplinary actions should not be initiated against them. If no satisfactory answer is available, the Commission will take strong disciplinary action against the ERO or AERO concerned, which may include suspension from service and the registration of an FIR.

A CEO official explained the nature of the offense by citing a case in Kolkata. “In the case of a particular voter, the ERO concerned mentioned the passport as the supporting identity document produced by the voter. However, in reality, the photo uploaded to the system was that of the voter’s AADHAAR card. This was a classic case of ‘grave and deliberate’ mistake,” the CEO official pointed out.

Accordingly, the ECI has announced a change in the responsibilities of micro-observers engaged in reviewing hearings on claims and objections to the draft electoral roll in West Bengal — currently underway as part of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) — with effect from February 2.

At present, micro-observers are deployed at hearing centres to ensure that proceedings are conducted in accordance with ECI guidelines. From Monday onwards, however, they will be tasked with supervising whether the identity documents produced by voters during hearings are uploaded correctly and strictly in line with the Commission’s prescribed list.

The micro-observers will ensure that only ECI-listed documents are uploaded as supporting identity proof. They will act as the first level of scrutiny, after which special roll observers will conduct a further review to identify and filter cases where unlisted documents may have been uploaded.

–IANS

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