Voter List Verification
Kolkata
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has issued clear instructions to Electoral Registration Officers (EROs) in West Bengal, advising them to refrain from writing any explanatory notes on identity and supporting documents submitted by voters during hearing sessions on claims and objections to the draft electoral rolls.
According to sources in the office of the Chief Electoral Officer, West Bengal, the Commission has specifically directed EROs not to write the word verified on any documents produced by voters during the hearings. The instruction also applies to other explanatory remarks or scribbles that may create an impression that the documents have already been authenticated.
To ensure strict compliance, the ECI has instructed micro-observers, who have been specially appointed to supervise and review the hearing sessions, to closely monitor the process. These observers have been asked to ensure that no notes are made on the documents except for the mandatory signatures of the EROs and the voters concerned. Officials said that EROs may place their own signatures or those of the voters only on the reverse side of the documents, without any additional remarks.
Explaining the rationale behind this directive, sources said that merely receiving documents during the hearing does not amount to their verification or authentication. The ECI has emphasized that all submitted documents will undergo a structured three-stage verification process. The first level of scrutiny will be conducted by the concerned EROs, followed by a second-level verification by the respective District Magistrates. The final stage will involve a technical examination using sophisticated tools by the Commission’s technical team.
This process is intended to fix accountability at every level of the electoral machinery involved in the hearing and verification process, sources said, adding that premature markings such as verified could compromise procedural clarity.
