ECI Suspends 7 West Bengal Officials Amid Electoral Roll Crisis

The Election Commission of India (ECI) has significantly escalated its oversight of West Bengal’s electoral processes. On Sunday night, February 15, 2026, the poll body ordered the immediate suspension of seven government officers serving as Assistant Electoral Registration Officers (AEROs).

The move follows allegations of “dereliction of duty” and the “wilful inclusion of fictitious voters” during the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of the state’s electoral rolls.

1. Who Are the Suspended Officials?

The ECI directed West Bengal Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty to initiate disciplinary proceedings against the following individuals immediately:

Dr. Sefaur Rahaman: Assistant Director of Agriculture (Samserganj, Murshidabad).
Nitish Das: Revenue Officer (Farakka, Murshidabad).
Sk. Murshid Alam: ADA, Suti Block (Suti, Murshidabad).
Satyajit Das: Joint Block Development Officer (Canning Purbo, South 24 Parganas).
Joydeep Kundu: FEO (Canning Purbo, South 24 Parganas).
Debashis Biswas: Joint BDO (Debra, Paschim Medinipur).
Dalia Ray Choudhury: Women Development Officer (Maynaguri, Jalpaiguri).

2. Statutory Power: Section 13CC of the RP Act

The ECI invoked Section 13CC of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, which is a powerful legal provision.

The Law: Under this section, all officers and staff employed for the preparation and revision of electoral rolls are “deemed to be on deputation to the Election Commission.”
The Impact: This grants the ECI direct disciplinary control over state government employees during the election period, allowing them to suspend officials without prior state approval if misconduct is identified.

3. The SIR “Data Security” Scandal

The suspension is part of a broader investigation into the integrity of West Bengal’s voter list.

Fictitious Voters: The ECI flagged the inclusion of “fake” entries and the compromise of data security during the “mapping” process.
The “Logical Discrepancies” Surge: Nearly 15.2 million voters were flagged for discrepancies, and while hearings concluded on February 14, over 4.98 lakh electors failed to show up, leading to their likely removal from the final roll.
Violence and Vandalism: The ECI recently informed the Supreme Court that several hearing venues (Panchayat Bhawans) had become “violence-prone,” with reports of records being burned to hinder the revision process.

4. Deadline for Chief Secretary: February 17

Chief Secretary Nandini Chakravorty has been summoned to appear before the ECI top brass in New Delhi.

The Deadline: By 5:30 PM on Tuesday, February 17, the state must submit a compliance report.
Pending Actions: The ECI is demanding the immediate filing of FIRs against errant officials, the payment of pending honorariums to Booth Level Officers (BLOs), and the transfer of three IAS officers who were allegedly appointed as Roll Observers without ECI clearance.

Disha Rojhe