KOLKATA: In compliance with a Supreme Court order, the Election Commission of India (ECI) on Wednesday directed West Bengal Chief Electoral Officer (WBCEO) Manoj Agarwal to display the names of voters falling under the ‘logical discrepancies’ and ‘unmapped’ categories by January 24 across the state.
The names are to be displayed at gram panchayat bhawans, prominent public places in every subdivision and block office, and at municipal wards.
The directive follows the Supreme Court’s observation on Monday that the ECI could display the names of voters belonging to the “logical discrepancies” and ‘unmapped’ categories during the ongoing Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls at the offices of gram panchayats, blocks, talukas, subdivisions and municipal wards.
“The exercise should be made completely timely and all persons should be given a fair opportunity,” said the division bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice Dipankar Datta.
In its communication to Agarwal, the Commission stated, “The persons, figuring in these two categories (‘Logical Discrepancies’ and ‘Unmapped’) are permitted to submit their documents/objections through their authorised representative, who can even be a Booth Level Agent (BLA).
There shall be an authority letter, by the person, in favour of such representative, whether signed or thumb-marked.”
The WBCEO has been instructed to earmark a gram panchayat bhawan, block office or ward office for each part of the electoral rolls, preferably within or near the polling station area, for submission of documents and hearings.
“The affected person can submit documents/objections at the designated panchayat bhawan or block office or ward office.
Further, upto ten days from displaying the names of the persons in the panchayat bhawans/block offices/ward offices,” the national poll panel said.
Voters who have not yet submitted their claims, documents or objections are allowed to do so within the extended period, it added.
Apart from submitting documents or objections in person or through an authorised representative, voters shall also be heard by the concerned Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or Assistant Electoral Registration Officer (AERO) during the same period.
The concerned official will certify documents or accord a hearing after receiving the submissions.
The Commission also categorically clarified, “Madhyamik admit card (Class 10), which discloses date of birth of the candidate may be submitted apart from Madhyamik pass certificate during the hearings related to the SIR process.”
A logical discrepancy signifies mismatches in the age of a voter’s father or parents and grandparents in the enumeration forms.