KOLKATA: West Bengal government allegedly issued domicile certificates as documentary evidence during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) hearings in the state despite the Election Commission of India (ECI) having invalidated it.
Sources in the ECI said that collectorate offices in the city and different districts are issuing domicile certificates as proofs for permanent address or residence certificates for SIR hearings despite the ban imposed by the national poll body.
The list of acceptable documents under the SIR include permanent address or residence certificates issued by the state, but domicile certificates do not fall under this category, an official at the office of the West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Manoj Agarwal said.
The official said no immediate action would be taken in the matter until the publication of the final electoral rolls on February 14.
A document in possession of TNIE revealed that how the Office of the Collector of Kolkata on N S Road close to the CEO office issues domicile certificates to voters to get their names included to the electoral rolls.
“This certificate is being issued as prayed by him/her in his/her application and is being issued following the enquiry report received from the Special Branch (Intelligence), Kolkata Police. This certificate shall be treated as valid for the purpose of the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) only,” according to the domicile certificate issued by the Office of the Collector of Kolkata to a Chetla-based voter in the Alipore area.
Hundreds of such domicile certificates have already been issued to voters by different collectors’ offices, according to sources.
About one month ago, the Commission had banned the domicile certificates as documentary evidence for the SIR hearings served to around 1.5 crore voters under the logical discrepancy and unmapped categories respectively in the state.
Voters who have already submitted the domicile certificates have also been summoned by the Commission for fresh hearings.
"Under the SIR framework, only documents notified as proof of permanent residence by the state government are admissible. A domicile certificate does not meet that criterion," sources in state CEO office said.
He further pointed out that each state follows specific government orders for issuing domicile certificates.
According to the latest guidelines in the state, domicile certificates are mainly issued to certain categories, including non-Bengali candidates applying for jobs in the Army and paramilitary forces.
"There have been complaints that domicile certificates are being issued in violation of the prescribed norms. In such circumstances, the commission cannot rely on these documents as valid documentary proof," sources added.
Meanwhile, nearly 10,000 newly issued voter ID cards during the ongoing SIR exercise were returned triggering concern, the official said.
The cards were dispatched to the registered addresses of applicants through the postal department in accordance with established procedures, he said.
However, delivery could not be completed as the intended recipients were not found at the given addresses, he added. "Once the final voter list is published, the cards will be resent to them following due process," he told
The Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has been slamming the ECI for invalidating domicile certificates for SIR in Bengal.
“Domicile certificate, which is accepted everywhere, is being rejected in West Bengal,” Mamata had said while addressing a rally recently in north Bengal.