16/02/2026
I have re-shared my post dated **27 November** to remind—and to formally request—all **DEOs, EROs and AEROs** to **scrupulously comply** with the latest directions of the **Hon’ble Supreme Court**, and to follow **Sections 21–29** as well as **Section 32** of the **Representation of the People Act, 1950**, in **letter and spirit**, during the ongoing **Special Intensive Revision (SIR)** in West Bengal.
The mandate of the Act, the Hon’ble Apex Court, and the Election Commission is unambiguous:
**“No eligible voter should be left out and no ineligible voter should be included in the final roll.”**
Yet the field reality suggests a disturbing and systematic departure from this duty. The relevant ECI instructions are not optional advisories; they are binding directions. Non-compliance by statutory authorities engaged in roll preparation is not a “procedural lapse”—it is a grave breach of statutory responsibility, and it will invite consequences. ****The present trajectory taken by Election Commission of India looks like the precursor to an avalanche that may engulf every statutory officer involved in this exercise, from **DEO to BLO***
I fail to understand what hidden factor could possibly compel statutory authorities to violate the **law of the land**, defy the **ECI**, and disregard the **Hon’ble Supreme Court**. Such conduct reflects not merely negligence, but audacity—indeed, an institutionalised disregard for accountability. Are officers truly prepared to stake their service career, reputation, and social standing for some wrongful gain? Do they believe they have no future to protect, no service to continue, no salary to earn? What kind of administrative anarchy is being normalised?
I have myself served as **AERO and ERO** even under the dreaded Left Front regime—when there was no **ERONET**, and when audit trails were far less robust. Today, in a digital ecosystem where **every action leaves an audit trail**, where every deviation is traceable and monitorable, it is incomprehensible that statutory authorities—under the leadership of the concerned **DEOs**—appear so eager to shield questionable inclusions.
More alarming is the apparent zeal to protect the inclusion of **illegal immigrants** (within the meaning and framework of the **Constitutional Amendment Act, 2019**) in the **01.01.2025 Electoral Roll** as well as the **Draft Roll** of the present SIR—while placing both service life and social life on the line.
Most glaring is the conduct of certain **direct-recruit IAS officers**, who are expected to be the **“steel frame of India”**—duty-bound to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law—yet seemingly unwilling to restrain the **madness** of political interference that has **no authority** to create **impediments to an ongoing SIR**. As I have already noted—and as Shakespeare captured it memorably—**“Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t”** (Hamlet, Act 2, Scene 2), spoken by Polonius. If there is indeed a “method”, then those facilitating it must recognise that the law will also have its method—through accountability, inquiry, and consequences.
What “gain” or “favour” can possibly justify abandoning ethics and the constitutional training imparted at **LBSNAA, Mussoorie**? These are not harmless deviations; they are actions with the potential to corrode the credibility of the electoral process. At this level, such conduct is not merely misconduct—it has the character of a **criminal breach of duty**.
I therefore reiterate, unequivocally: **comply with Sections 21–29 and Section 32 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950**, comply with the directions of the **ECI** and the **Hon’ble Supreme Court**, and ensure—without exception—that **no eligible voter is excluded and no ineligible voter is included** in the final roll.
