New Delhi, 4 December (H.S.): The Supreme Court on Thursday expressed concern over the heavy workload on Booth Level Officers (BLOs) involved in the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists and directed states to deploy additional staff to ease their burden.

A bench led by Chief Justice Suryakant instructed that if any BLO is unable to continue due to personal reasons, they should be granted relief upon valid justification and the work reassigned to others. The court further clarified that in cases where relief is denied, the concerned BLO may approach the court for intervention.

The Supreme Court also stated that compensation claims can be filed in case of any death of a BLO during the SIR process.The directives came during the hearing of a plea filed by Tamil actor Vijay’s party, the Tamil Vikatan Katchi (TVK). The petition sought to prevent the Election Commission from taking punitive action under Section 32 of the Representation of Peoples Act against BLOs for errors made during SIR.

Senior advocate Gopal Shankaranarayanan representing TVK said the Election Commission has filed multiple FIRs against BLOs in Uttar Pradesh, many of whom are Anganwadi workers and teachers. He highlighted that BLOs juggle their primary duties along with SIR responsibilities. He cited a tragic case where a BLO who was suspended for seeking leave to attend his wedding subsequently committed suicide.

The Supreme Court observed that the Election Commission cannot function alone and must seek assistance from state governments. Senior advocate Kapil Sibal pointed out the immense pressure on BLOs to complete SIR work within a month in large states like Uttar Pradesh, even though assembly elections are scheduled for 2027.

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar