Has ECI Urged Bengal CS for Compliance Report on Suspended Poll Officials?

Kolkata, Aug 8 (NationPress) The Election Commission of India (ECI) issued a reminder on Friday to West Bengal Chief Secretary Manoj Pant regarding the submission of a compliance report. This report pertains to the earlier directive from the commission that mandated the state government to suspend four election officials linked to two Assembly constituencies across two districts in West Bengal due to their involvement in the improper addition of names to the electoral rolls.

On August 5, the commission had communicated with Pant, instructing the suspension of the four election officers, which included two Electoral Returning Officers (EROs) and two Assistant Electoral Returning Officers (AEROs), alongside the necessity to file FIRs against them.

This communication also urged the Chief Secretary to ensure strict adherence to these directions and to submit an action-taken report to the commission promptly.

However, three days have elapsed since the initial directive, and the West Bengal government has yet to present any compliance report. Consequently, on Monday, the ECI sent a strongly-worded reminder, establishing a deadline for compliance.

“As of now, no compliance report detailing specific actions against the mentioned officers has been received by the Commission. The Commission has mandated that immediate actions be taken against the implicated officers and that a compliance report be submitted to the Commission by 3 p.m. on August 11, 2025,” stated the recent reminder from ECI Secretary Sujeet Kumar Mishra.

The complications surrounding disciplinary measures against the four election officers began when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee contested the commission's order, asserting that the state government would refrain from taking action against the officers, as they are state employees.

To provide context, the office of the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of West Bengal, Manoj Kumar Agarwal, conducted an extensive investigation into the two EROs, two AEROs, and one data entry operator following complaints about their involvement in the wrongful addition of names to the electoral rolls in these constituencies.

Subsequently, the CEO's office forwarded a report detailing their findings to the commission, indicating that these officers had not only failed to fulfill their duties as EROs and AEROs while processing applications but also breached data security policies by sharing their login credentials for the election registration database with unauthorized individuals.

If found guilty, the responsible parties could face imprisonment for a minimum of three months, which could extend up to two years, along with fines, as stipulated by legal provisions.